Jacob Wrestling with the Angel
Gustave Doré, 1866 · Genesis 32:24
The passage
And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
Genesis 32:24
About this plate
They are on a bluff at first light. Jacob is bent forward and driving, in a dark tunic, both hands locked on the angel. The angel stands upright with wings folded back, one hand raised to catch Jacob's wrist, and is not braced against anything.
That contrast is the whole plate. Doré draws one wrestler and one figure standing still. The angel's robe hangs straight; his feet are together. He is not being pushed. Whatever this is, only one of the two is exerting himself.
Below and behind them the land drops away to a plain with palms and water, and you can just make out an encampment. It is Jacob's own household, sent across the ford ahead of him. The verse says Jacob was left alone, and Doré makes sure you can see exactly what he is alone from — it is right there, a few hundred yards off, in the light.
His staff lies on the rock where he dropped it. The foreground is thorn.
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