Joseph's coat brought to Jacob.

During his lifetime, Rembrandt's extraordinary skills as a printmaker were the main source of his international fame. Unlike his oil paintings, prints travelled light and were relatively cheap. For this reason, they soon became very popular with collectors not only within, but also beyond the borders of the Netherlands. It also explains why, two centuries later, they were affordable for Bishop Ditlev Monrad, who presented his print collection to the Colonial Museum in 1869, and Sir John Ilott who did the same to the National Art Gallery a century later.

While the huge majority of their prints are from Rembrandt's original plates, however reworked, copies such as this example were also made, the earliest dating from Rembrandt's own lifetime and extending to the early 19th century. This makes them less valuable but nonetheless fascinating documents to the enduring popularity of the artist.

The Old Testament story of Joseph fueled the imagination of Dutch artists, Rembrandt included, not only for the marvelous exploits of the young leader, but also for the jealousies, deceits and betrayals that mark the complex narrative of his life. The subject was painted, for example, by Rembrandt's sometime studio mate, Jan Lievens (1640s; Joseph and Lieve Guttmann Collection, USA).

The cause of many of those jealousies was the coat of many colours that Joseph's father, Jacob, had presented to him as a sign that he was the favored son. The tragic consequences, when Joseph's brothers turned against him, are described in Genesis 37:12-35. When Joseph, having been sent by his father to report on the status of his brothers who were herding sheep, found them in the land of Dothan, his brethren conspired to kill him. However, Reuben, one of the brothers, dissuaded them from committing fratricide and, instead, they threw Joseph into a pit. Although Reuben intended to rescue Joseph and return him to his father, Joseph was taken to Egypt after the others sold him to passing Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. Reuben, upon discovering that Joseph was missing, then conspired with his brothers to deceive Jacob into believing that Joseph had been eaten by a wild beast. To feign his death they dipped his coat in the blood of a goat, which they then took to the aged patriarch. Seeing the bloody coat, Jacob tore his garments in grief, donned sackcloth and, taking no comfort in his family's consolations, mourned Joseph's loss.

In his etching, Rembrandt focussed on the immediate news being conveyed to the devasted Jacob, who throws back his head and raises his hands in horror at the sight of the bloody coat. One of the sons, probably Reuben, is acting up the story, while his brother Judah is calmer, feigning concern. His bulky purse betrays the truth behind the deception. Leah, his elderly mother, stands at the doorway, staring open-mouthed, and nervously draws her hands together.

This is one of several documented copies of this etching dating from Rembrandt's early career. Our copy is by a skilled but unknown artist, and faces the same direction as Rembrandt's print, indicating that a fresh plate had been made. Reverse copies were also made in the 18th century.

References: New Hollstein Dutch 122, copy b; Hollstein Dutch 38, copy 3

See: The Leiden Collection, https://www.theleidencollection.com/artwork/jacob-shown-josephs-bloody-coat/

Shelley Perlove and Larry Silver, <em>Rembrandt's Faith: Church and Temple in the Dutch Golden Age </em>(Pennsylvania, 2009), pp. 97-98.

Dr Mark Stocker   Curator, Historical International Art     August 2017