L'Archange Raphaël disparaissant parmi la famille de Tobie by Joseph-Benoît Suvée

Painted in 1789 and depicting the archangel Raphael disappearing from the family of Tobias — an episode from the deuterocanonical Book of Tobit — this canvas belongs to the tradition of Old Testament apocrypha that provided Neoclassical painters with narratives of divine intervention into family life. In the story, Raphael had accompanied the young Tobias on a journey in disguise, providing miraculous guidance and healing; his revelation of his true identity and subsequent ascension constituted the painting's subject. The scene combines the register of domestic family emotion — the awe and gratitude of the assembled Tobit family — with the spectacle of celestial departure. Suvée's 1789 execution of this subject reflects his ongoing engagement with religious history subjects alongside his celebrated secular Neoclassical themes.

The composition divides between the earthly and celestial registers: the Tobit family clustered below in poses of astonishment and reverence, while the archangel ascends in a luminous departure above. Suvée manages the transition between grounded figures and ascending form through a gradient of light that intensifies upward.