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Job on the Dung Hill

Werner Kuebler the Elder1581

The J. Paul Getty Museum

The J. Paul Getty Museum
Los Angeles, United States

His body covered with sores, the Old Testament hero Job sits on a heap of dung wearing only a loincloth. To the left stand his wife, hands impatiently on her hips, and his mocking friends. With long horns and a forked tongue, Satan claws at Job from behind. Armed figures steal Job's cattle in the background, while his children flee a burning house. God allowed Satan to devise this series of afflictions and humiliations to torment Job and test his faith.

Werner Kuebler the Elder made this study for a stained-glass window, filling not only the circular central scene but also the surrounding frame with moralizing details. The figures of Patience, with a lamb, and Hope, with an anchor, perch on either side, references to the noble qualities that Job possessed. Lush bunches of fruit and vegetables ornament the design.

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  • Title: Job on the Dung Hill
  • Creator: Werner Kuebler the Elder
  • Date Created: 1581
  • Physical Dimensions: 39.7 × 31.4 cm (15 5/8 × 12 3/8 in.)
  • Type: Drawing
  • External Link: Find out more about this object on the Museum website.
  • Medium: Pen and black ink, and gray wash
  • Terms of Use: Open Content
  • Number: 85.GA.290
  • Culture: Swiss
  • Credit Line: The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
  • Creator Display Name: Werner Kuebler the Elder (Swiss, 1555 - about 1586)
  • Classification: Drawings (Visual Works)
The J. Paul Getty Museum

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