The biblical book of Genesis relates how Jacob constantly quarrels with his uncle and father-in-law Laban about wives, cattle and household gods. Sébastien Bourdon painted various versions of Jacob’s journey from Laban to the land of his forefathers. The scene takes place in prehistoric times, prior to the Rome of the Caesars, yet it is Roman ruins that are depicted: The Pyramid of Cestius and part of a Corinthian colonnade.