Joseph Distributing Grain to Egypt
Medium
Etching from two plates on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 45.1 × 67 cm (17 13/16 × 26 7/16 in.); Sheet: 45.2 × 67.1 cm (17 13/16 × 26 7/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
28686
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Bartholomeus Breenbergh was a painter of Roman ruins and religious and historical subjects. He lived in Rome for around 10 years beginning in 1619, and he founded the Netherlandish artist's fraternity there in 1623. He later returned to Amsterdam, married well, and, by 1644, he had switched from landscapes to more historical or literary subjects, which he depicted in large format etchings, such as this example.
About the Artist
Bartholomeus Breenbergh · 1598–1657
Probably was apprenticed in Amsterdam. He was one of the early Dutch italianates, that is, northern artists who travelled to Italy in the 1620s and were inspired by southern landscapes. On his return, he settled in Amsterdam and his landscapes were developed as more severe and monumental, often with historical subjects; strongly influenced by the Pre-Rembrandtists. Comment on works: Landscapes; Ru...