Joseph Distributes Corn, from "Dalziels' Bible Gallery"
Medium
Wood engraving on India paper, mounted on thin card
Dimensions
Image: 6 5/16 × 7 1/4 in. (16 × 18.4 cm) India sheet: 8 7/16 × 9 1/4 in. (21.5 × 23.5 cm) Mount: 16 7/16 in. × 12 15/16 in. (41.8 × 32.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Anonymous Gift, 1926
Accession Number
26.99.1(25)
Tags
Art Historical Context
"Joseph Distributes Corn" is a captivating wood engraving from *Dalziel's Bible Gallery*, a lavish Victorian publication produced between 1864 and 1881 by the renowned Dalziel Brothers, master wood engravers. The image, designed by Sir Edward John Poynter—a leading Pre-Raphaelite-influenced artist and later President of the Royal Academy—depicts the biblical scene from Genesis where Joseph, elevated to power in Egypt, oversees the distribution of grain during a famine. This moment of generosity and authority draws viewers into the drama of ancient survival, populated by diverse figures includi...
About the Artist
Camden Press|Scribner and Welford|Dalziel Brothers|Sir Edward John Poynter (British|American|British) · 1857 |1800 |1839 –1893 |1899 |1893
British, London|New York, NY|British, active 1839–93