Period: 17th century
Price: € 2.400
SOLD Oil on canvas painting, measuring 67 x 87 cm without frame and 72 x 92 cm with frame, depicting two religious scenes: Joseph Sold by his Brothers and The brothers showing Joseph's bloodied robe, staging his death. One day, Joseph and his younger brother Benjamin, the two sons of Jacob and the now deceased Rachel, return to Canaan to find their father and half-brothers. That evening, during dinner, Joseph recounts a dream in which he sees all his brothers and his father bowing down to him. Jacob understands that Joseph, thanks to his power to foresee the future through dreams, is a true miracle of God and makes him the most powerful of the brothers. But unfortunately, this decision drastically increases the anger of his half-brothers, particularly the firstborn Reuben and the second-born Simeon, who are informed of everything by the other half-brothers when they meet them at the sheep selling yard the day after dinner. Reuben then decides, even against Jacob's will, to lead the livestock and sell it instead of Joseph; an idea approved by everyone except Joseph, who has left Benjamin in Canaan with Jacob and says that the father's will must not be contradicted. Reuben is shocked while Simeon, after a brief scuffle with Joseph, knocks him unconscious by hitting him from behind with a stone; just at that moment, a caravan of slave traders arrives and offers the brothers a high price for a slave. The brothers agree to sell Joseph, Reuben feels insecure but is convinced by Simeon, who is entirely proud of his horrid prank. After selling Joseph, Simeon and the other brothers stain Joseph's torn tunic with lamb's blood and take it to Jacob and Benjamin to make them believe he is dead. The painting belongs to the central phase of the 17th-century Flemish school, when the pursuit of the monumentality of the figures and the balance of the composition prevail over the extravagance of the brushstrokes and the contrasts of tonality. The main characteristics of the painting are the airy vastness of the landscapes and the sense of diffused luminosity, which are reminiscent of free French art with a slight neoclassical note. The paintings and art objects published here are my exclusive property and consequently are always available to be viewed in person, by appointment, at my exhibition venues located in Sanremo and Brescia. The work, like all our objects, is sold with a FIMA photographic certificate of authenticity and lawful origin; this document identifies the object, adding value to the item. We personally handle and organize the packaging and shipping of works of art with insurance worldwide. Dr. Riccardo Moneghini Art Historian