Salmon, Boaz, Obed

Lunette Salmon, Boaz, Obed

The identification of the figure on the right as Boaz is based on weak arguments, since in the Bible it is written that during his old age he rejoiced in the birth of Obed, who would thus be represented on the left in the arms of his mother Ruth. The woman, with closed eyes, is occupied in the tender embrace of her swaddled sleeping son. A breast protrudes from her robe,  recalling that she has recently nursed her child: in the past this detail had been concealed with retouches then eliminated during the recent restorations. This mother-child group is Amosg the tenderest of the series and contrasts sharply in terms of attitude and colour with the figure of the old man on the opposite side. He is represented in profile, with one hand on the base on which he is seated, and the other holding a stick on which there is carved a small bearded head, seemingly his portrait. He is hunched with a lined faced and a hoary beard that projects forward curiously.