Joseph and the wife of Potiphar (Murillo)
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| Joseph and the wife of Potiphar |
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| Bartolomé Esteban Murillo , 1640/45 |
| Oil on canvas |
| 196.5 x 254.3 cm |
| Old Masters Picture Gallery (Kassel) |
Joseph and the wife of Potiphar is a painting by the Spanish painter Bartolomé Esteban Murillo . The painting is part of the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Kassel .
Historical context
The expansion of the Jesuit order during the Counter-Reformation shaped the time when the Spanish painting was created. In addition, Italian art had an influence, as parts of Italy belonged to Spain . Murillo's large-format painting was created around 1645.
Image content
Theme of the picture is a story from the first book of Genesis ( Gen 39.7 to 21 EU ), which was edited by numerous visual artists: Potiphar , the commander of the guard of Pharaoh, will buy Jacob's favorite son Joseph of Midianite traders as slaves . Joseph quickly gains his master's trust and becomes the overseer of Potiphar's property. His wife falls in love with Joseph and tries to seduce him. When Joseph escapes her, his coat remains in her hands. Disappointed and angry, the woman accuses Joseph of harassing her, whereupon he is thrown into prison.
In the oil painting, Potiphar's wife is sitting barefoot and with her breast barefoot on her bed in the right half of the picture. She reaches for the yellow-tinted cloak that still hangs over Joseph's left shoulder. In contrast to the woman, who is fully dressed in a kind of tunic and shoes, he flees with dramatic gestures on the left side of the picture. His hands are raised, fingers spread, he is lungeing on a brightly colored carpet away from the camp, which is richly furnished with pillows and blankets. His gaze is directed back to Potiphar's wife, who in turn looks up at him. The light textiles and skin areas stand out in stark contrast from the darker areas of the picture.
Karl Julius Weber , who visited the Kassler artworks in the 19th century, commented on the painting rather disparagingly and found “the lady fiery”, but she “had such slack breasts that Joseph couldn't find it difficult for her and his coat to fail to let! ” Ernst August Friedrich Klingemann had already expressed the same criticism a few years earlier .
Picturesque style
Murillo's monumental early work is evident in its pointed realism, in its light-dark contrasts and especially in its coloring, which was influenced by Francisco de Zurbarán and Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio .
Dating attempts and the question of authenticity
The painting is signed. Its authenticity has been questioned several times because of its drama and harshness. Jürgen Michael Lehmann set it between 1645 and 1648.
Provenance
The picture was bought by Friedrich II of Hessen-Kassel before 1775 .
literature
- Old Masters Picture Gallery at Wilhelmshöhe Palace. 2nd Edition. Westermann. Braunschweig 1982, pp. 50-51.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Heinrich Krauss: What pictures tell. CHBeck, 2011, ISBN 978-3-406-62408-7 , p. 200 ( limited preview in Google book search)
- ↑ a b c Joseph and Potiphar's wife on altemeister.museum-kassel.de
- ↑ Joseph and Potiphar's Wife at www.wga.hu
- ^ Karl Julius Weber: All works. Hallberger, 1834, p. 332 ( limited preview in Google book search)
- ^ Ernst August Friedrich Klingemann: Art and Nature. GCE Meyer, 1828, p. 395 ( limited preview in the Google book search)