Joseph receiving Pharaoh's Ring
Giovanni Battista Tiepoloc. 1733-35
Dulwich Picture Gallery
London, United Kingdom
"Tiepolo is chiefly known for his numerous decorative fresco paintings, the majority of which were executed in Northern Italy. This was once attributed to his son Domenico. The more distant of the two trumpeters is almost certainly a self-portrait.
The subject is an extremely uncommon one for paintings of any period, and is taken from Genesis XLI: 'And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, ""See I have set thee over all the land of Egypt."" And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand ...'
Pharaoh's turban and crown, and the work's horizontal composition, suggest that the artist may have known, perhaps through engravings, Dutch seventeenth century treatments of similar Biblical subjects in the circle of Rembrandt."
- Title: Joseph receiving Pharaoh's Ring
- Creator Lifespan: 1696 - 1770
- Date: c. 1733-35
- Physical Dimensions: w1797 x h1061 cm
- Type: Painting
- Medium: Oil
- Work Notes: NOT IN GPI MAR 2003.
- Work Nationality: Italian
- Support: Canvas
- Provenance: London, Sir Francis Bourgeois, 1811; Bourgeois Bequest, 1811.
- Further Information: Pharaoh hands Joseph a ring to show that he has chosen the young Jewish ex-slave as his second-in-command over all the land of Egypt (Genesis 41:42). The painting is thought to have been executed 1733-5, a date supported by the fact that the standard-bearer's dragon helmet is identical to another worn by the allegorical figure of Valour in Tiepolo's frescoes at the Villa Loschi al Biron, near Vicenza, painted in 1734. The more distant of the two trumpeters appears to be a self-portrait.
- Artist: Tiepolo, Giambattista
- Acquisition Method: Bourgeois, Sir Peter Francis (Bequest, 1811)
Get the app
Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more
You are all set!
Your first Culture Weekly will arrive this week.