Anonymous
Joseph is pulled out of the well
illumination — 18th century
This work is linked to Genesis 37:28
| (창 37:28) | 그 때에 미디안 사람 상인들이 지나가고 있는지라 형들이 요셉을 구덩이에서 끌어올리고 은 이십에 그를 이스마엘 사람들에게 팔매 그 상인들이 요셉을 데리고 애굽으로 갔더라  렘38:13 |
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Joseph had been thrown into a well by his brothers. They wanted to get rid of him because their father Jacob loved him the most. Here we see how a group of traveling merchants pull Joseph out of the well. They would take him to Egypt and sell him as a slave.
This illumination was made in the 18th century by an anonymous artist in India. It is an illustration in a manuscript of a poem by the Persian poet Jami (1414?-1492) that tells Yusuf's story. Yusuf is the islamic name for Joseph. Yusuf and Zulayka is one of seven books in Jami's classic work Haft Awrang.
Zulayka was the wife of Potiphar, the Egyptian who bought Joseph from the merchants.
The Bible and the Quran both tell the story of Joseph, Potiphar and Zulayka. There are several small differences. In the Bible Potiphar's wife has no name. The Bible says that Joseph's brothers sold him to the merchants, the Quran claims that the brothers were gone when the merchants found Joseph in the well.
Kamal ud-din Behzad 1450 – 1535
The Seduction of Yusuf
illumination (30 × 21 cm) — 1488
National Library and Archives of Egypt, Cairo
This work is linked to Genesis 39:7
| (창 39:7) | ○그 후에 그의 주인의 아내가 요셉에게 눈짓하다가 동침하기를 청하니 |
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One of the 114 suras in the Qur'an is Sura Yusuf, named after the prophet Yusuf. It tells of the life of the prophet. It is largely similar to the story of Joseph in Genesis.
The sura also contains the story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife (in the Bible she has no name). The wife shows great interest in Joseph, her husband's servant. Joseph rejects her. She takes revenge by accusing him falsely.
In Persia the story was retold in many versions. one was by the 13th century poet Sa'adi. Two centuries later a certain sultan Ali al-Katib put it in writing, with illustrations by the Persian artist Behzad. In this story Zulaikha (Potiphar's wife now has a name) chases Yusuf through the seven rooms of her palace. In the last room she tries to embrace him, but he manages to escape untouched.
Kamal ud-din Behzad was known as the best painter of Herat, a Persian city in what now is western Afghanistan. He used paint, ink and gold for this illumination. The emphasis of the composition is on the complex architecture of the palace.
Bartholomeus Breenbergh 1598 – 1657
Joseph Distributing Corn in Egypt
oil on canvas (110 × 90 cm) — 1655
Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham (UK)
Bartholomeus Breenbergh biography
This work is linked to Genesis 42:6
| (창 42:6) | 때에 요셉이 나라의 총리로서 그 땅 모든 백성에게 곡식을 팔더니 요셉의 형들이 와서 그 앞에서 땅에 엎드려 절하매 |
During the seven years of prosperity, Joseph had the foresight to gather large stocks of corn. When famine broke out, he had enough corn to sell to the hungry.
Here Joseph inspects the market place. He is standing in the top right corner. In the top left is Pharaoh. Joseph was in his service. His brothers had sold him many years ago to Egyptians. Now the very same brothers had been sent to Egypt by their father Jacob, who remained in Canaan. Jacob wanted them to buy corn.
Breenbergh shows a market place with Egyptian elements (the obelisk) and Roman buildings (the church behind Joseph).
Benjamin Gerritsz. Cuyp 1612 – 1652
Joseph, the Butler and the Baker
oil on panel (73 × 62 cm) — ca. 1630 - 1652
Benjamin Gerritsz. Cuyp biography
This work is linked to Genesis 40:19
| (창 40:19) | 지금부터 사흘 안에 바로가 당신의 머리를 들고 당신을 나무에 달리니 새들이 당신의 고기를 뜯어 먹으리이다 하더니 |
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After being falsely accused, Joseph was put in prison. There he met two other prisoners, both servants to Pharaoh: his butler and his baker.
One night the two had dreams which Joseph explained to them. The butler dreamed of a vine with ripe grapes, which he pressed into a cup and handed to Pharaoh. Joseph said he would soon be reinstated as Pharaoh's butler.
The baker dreamed that he carried three baskets with bread for Pharaoh on his head, and that birds ate all the bread. Joseph said the dream meant he would be beheaded and put on a tree for the birds to eat.
Both interpretations came true. Later, when Pharaoh also had dreams that he wanted explained, the butler remembered a man with a remarkable talent.
In this painting by Cuyp the butler and baker wear chains. By divine intervention Joseph had certain privileges, allowing him to move freely inside the prison walls.
Arent de Gelder 1645 – 1727
Joseph and Judah with the Cup
oil on canvas (115 × 150 cm) — c. 1682
This work is linked to Genesis 44:18
| (창 44:18) | 유다가 그에게 가까이 가서 이르되 내 주여 원하건대 당신의 종에게 내 주의 귀에 한 말씀을 아뢰게 하소서 주의 종에게 노하지 마소서 주는 바로와 같으심이니이다 |
Joseph's brother Judah falls to his knees and asks Joseph to spare his father from losing another son. Joseph is clearly moved by the request.
Joseph had become a rich grain trader in Egypt. His brothers sold him when he was still young. They do not recognize him when they come to buy grain.
De Gelder also used this subject in his Judah and Joseph, now in a private collection.
Arent de Gelder 1645 – 1727
Judah and Joseph
oil on canvas (99 × 113 cm) — ca. 1680-1685
private collection
This work is linked to Genesis 44:18
| (창 44:18) | 유다가 그에게 가까이 가서 이르되 내 주여 원하건대 당신의 종에게 내 주의 귀에 한 말씀을 아뢰게 하소서 주의 종에게 노하지 마소서 주는 바로와 같으심이니이다 |
Joseph was sold to the Egyptians by his brothers. In Egypt he becomes successful, gaining power equaled only by the Pharaoh. Joseph is in charge of vast supplies of grain.
Driven by a famine his brothers travel to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, without knowing his true identity. After their departure Joseph has someone hide a silver cup in their luggage. That way he can accuse his brothers of theft.
Joseph demands that the brother is whose luggage the goblet was found, becomes his slave. De Gelder here shows how Joseph's elder brother Judah begs him to drop that demand. The accused brother was Benjamin, who after Joseps's disappearance had become his father Jacob's favourite son. Judah argues that his father would not survive losing another favourite son. Joseph is touched by Judah's plea and tells his brothers who he really is.
Alexander Ivanov 1806 – 1858
Joseph's Brothers Find the Silver Goblet in Benjamin's Sack
oil on canvas — 1831-1833 Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
This work is linked to Genesis 44:12
| (창 44:12) | 그가 나이 많은 자에게서부터 시작하여 나이 적은 자에게까지 조사하매 그 잔이 베냐민의 자루에서 발견된지라 |
Alexander Ivanov 1806 – 1858
Joseph, the Butler and the Baker
oil on canvas — 1827 Russian Museum, St Petersburg
This work is linked to Genesis 40:8
| (창 40:8) |
그들이 그에게 이르되 우리가 꿈을 꾸었으나 이를 해석할 자가 없도다 요셉이 그들에게 이르되 해석은 하나님께 있지 아니하니이까 청하건대 내게 이르소서
Lucas van Leyden 1494 – 1533 Potifar's wife shows Joseph's gown to her husband oil on panel (24 × 35 cm) — c. 1512
This work is linked to Genesis 39:17
Joseph flees the house when his master Potiphar's wife tries to seduce him. She manages to pull a part of his gown. When Potiphar returns, his wife accuses Joseph of having tried to rape her. She shows the cloth as evidence. The unnamed wife tries to look scared and innocent. Potiphar tells his men to catch Joseph. This is one of Lucas van Leyden's first oil paintings. His technique is still very detailed, as if the panel were an etching. |
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 1606 – 1669
Jacob Blessing the Children of Joseph
oil on canvas (175 × 210 cm) — 1656
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Kassel
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn biography
This work is linked to Genesis 48:14
| (창 48:14) | 이스라엘이 오른손을 펴서 차남 에브라임의 머리에 얹고 왼손을 펴서 므낫세의 머리에 얹으니 므낫세는 장자라도 팔을 엇바꾸어 얹었더라 |
When Joseph hears that his father Jacob is dying, he takes his sons Manasseh and Ephraim to see him. He wants Jacob to bless his sons. The blind old man is willing to do so, but much to Joseph's surprise, he puts his right hand on Ephraim's head. Tradition had it that the eldest is to be blessed with the right hand, and Ephraim is the younger.
As Joseph objects, Jacob says about Ephraim "his seed shall become a multitude of nations". Jacob thus must have known that the tribe of Ephraim would become larger than the tribe of Manasseh.
Rembrandt chose not to depict the argument in this intimate painting. Note the presence of Asenath, mother of the children.
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 1606 – 1669
Joseph Accused by Potiphar's wife (Washington)
oil on canvas (110 × 87 cm) — 1655
Gemäldegalerie der Staatlichen Museen, Berlin
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn biography
This work is linked to Genesis 39:17
| (창 39:17) | 이 말로 그에게 말하여 이르되 당신이 우리에게 데려온 히브리 종이 나를 희롱하려고 내게로 들어왔으므로 |
Potiphar's wife accuses Joseph of fornication after he refused to be seduced by her. Joseph is to the left, in an odd position, especially when compared to the almost identical painting in Washington.
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 1606 – 1669
Joseph Accused by Potiphar's wife (Washington)
oil on canvas (106 × 98 cm) — 1655
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn biography
This work is linked to Genesis 39:17
| (창 39:17) | 이 말로 그에게 말하여 이르되 당신이 우리에게 데려온 히브리 종이 나를 희롱하려고 내게로 들어왔으므로 |
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Potiphar's wife tries to seduce the pious Joseph. When Joseph does not give in, she accuses him of making a pass at her, thus insulting her husband.
According to Genesis, Joseph was not present at the scene: he had fled the room. For dramatic effect Rembrandt includes him in the scene.
The National Gallery says the painting was made in Rembrandt's workshop by an unknown assistant. Another version, also made in 1655, is now in Berlin. It is quite similar to this one.
This biblical passage also inspires Joost van den Vondel, Rembrandt's contemporary and fellow-townsman, and the Netherlands' greatest playwright of their time. Vondel's tragedy Joseph in Egypt appears in 1640. Research has shown that Rembrandt probably attented a performance in 1655 - the year he made these paintings. The actrice who played Potifar's wife may have modelled for Rembrandt's painting.
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 1606 – 1669
Joseph tells his dreams to Jacob
oil on paper (51 × 39 cm) — 1633
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn biography
This work is linked to Genesis 37:10
| (창 37:10) | 그가 그의 꿈을 아버지와 형들에게 말하매 아버지가 그를 꾸짖고 그에게 이르되 네가 꾼 꿈이 무엇이냐 나와 네 어머니와 네 형들이 참으로 가서 땅에 엎드려 네게 절하겠느냐 |
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In a cosy atmosphere, with his mother Rachel sitting in bed, Joseph tells his dreams to his parents and a few of his brothers.
To his brothers the dreams were yet another reason to hate their brother: not only they but even the sun and the moon were to bow for him. His father Jacob at first rebuked him, but he silently felt the dreams might be a sign of things to come.
Rembrandt made several drawings on this subject. He may have been inspired by this engraving by Lucas van Leyden.
In this painting on paper Rembrandt used but a few colors, mostly gray and brown. The name for that technique is grisaille.
Diego Rodríguez da Silva y Velázquez 1599 – 1660
Joseph's Bloody Coat Brought to Jacob
oil on canvas (223 × 250 cm) — 1630
Monastery of El Escorial, San Lorenzo de El Escorial
Diego Rodríguez da Silva y Velázquez biography
This work is linked to Genesis 37:32
| (창 37:32) | 그의 채색옷을 보내어 그의 아버지에게로 가지고 가서 이르기를 우리가 이것을 발견하였으니 아버지 아들의 옷인가 보소서 하매 |
Jacob loved Joseph more than he loved his other children. His jealous brothers therefor decide to sell Joseph into slavery. Afterwards, they show Jacob Joseph's coat, stained with a goat's blood. They tell Jacob that Joseph was attacked by a wild animal. Jacob is shocked.
Velázquez made this painting while traveling in Italy (1629-1631).
Hans Holbein the Younger 1497/8 – 1543
Pharaoh's Dream
woodcarving (60 × 85 mm) — 1538
Hans Holbein the Younger biography
This work is linked to Genesis 41:1
| (창 41:1) | 만 이 년 후에 바로가 꿈을 꾼즉 자기가 나일 강 가에 서 있는데 |
Pharaoh has two bad dreams. In the first seven fat cows are devoured by seven lean cows. In the second seven thin ears of corn eat seven full ones.
Holbein shows the dreams to the right.
The next day he asks his magicians what the dreams mean, but they could not interpret them. Pharaoh's chief butler then remembers the young Hebrew man who excelled at explaining dreams: Joseph.
The print is probably one of 94 Holbein made on the Old Testament. They were first published as Biblia Utriusque Testamenti iuxta Vulgatam Translationem. Holbein made the sketch, Veit Rudolf Specklin cut the wood.
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 1606 – 1669
Joseph and Potiphar's Wife
etching (9 × 11,5 cm) — 1634
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn biography
This work is linked to Genesis 39:12
| (창 39:12) | 그 여인이 그의 옷을 잡고 이르되 나와 동침하자 그러나 요셉이 자기의 옷을 그 여인의 손에 버려두고 밖으로 나가매 |
Pious Joseph, enslaved in Egypt, flees from his master Potiphar's obtrusive wife.
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