Eliezer and Rebekah at the Well, from "Dalziels' Bible Gallery"
Medium
Wood engraving on India paper, mounted on thin card
Dimensions
Image: 7 in. × 5 5/16 in. (17.8 × 13.5 cm) India sheet: 9 1/8 × 7 3/8 in. (23.2 × 18.7 cm) Mount: 16 7/16 in. × 12 15/16 in. (41.8 × 32.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Anonymous Gift, 1926
Accession Number
26.99.1(17)
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
This wood engraving captures the tender biblical encounter between Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, and Rebekah at the well, drawn from the Book of Genesis. As part of the ambitious *Dalziels’ Bible Gallery* project (1863–81), the image was designed by Pre-Raphaelite painter William Holman Hunt and engraved by the Dalziel Brothers for reproduction in a lavish illustrated Bible. The scene emphasizes themes of divine providence and hospitality, rendered with the meticulous observation typical of Hunt’s style. Executed as a wood engraving on India paper, the print allowed Victorian audiences to experience Hunt’s richly detailed vision through an accessible medium. The fine lines and tonal subtlety achieved by the Dalziel firm highlight the technical sophistication of 19th-century reproductive engraving, bridging painting and popular print culture. Now in the Metropolitan Museum’s collection, the work exemplifies how such gallery projects brought high-art interpretations of scripture into homes across Britain and America.
About the Artist
Camden Press|Scribner and Welford|Dalziel Brothers|William Holman Hunt (British|American|British) · 1857 |1800 |1839 –1893 |1899 |1893
British, London|New York, NY|British, active 1839–93