Joseph's Coat Brought to Jacob
18th c.
Medium
Etching in black on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 10.5 × 10.4 cm (4 3/16 × 4 1/8 in.); Sheet: 11.1 × 10.9 cm (4 3/8 × 4 5/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
235039
Art Historical Context
In the intimate etching *Joseph's Coat Brought to*, Rembrandt van Rijn captures a pivotal moment from the Book of Genesis, where Joseph's brothers present his bloodied coat to their father Jacob, deceiving him into believing his favored son is dead. This18th-century impression of Rembrandt's masterful print exemplifies the Dutch Baroque master's profound engagement with biblical narratives, blending emotional drama with psychological depth. Rembrandt, a towering figure of the 17th century often drew from scripture to explore themes of jealousy, grief, and human frailty, making this scene a poi...
About the Artist
Rembrandt van Rijn · 1606–1669
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–1669) stands as one of the greatest visual artists in the history of Western art and the most important Dutch painter of the 17th century. Born in Leiden to a prosperous miller's family, Rembrandt transformed painting through his revolutionary use of light and shadow, his psychological depth in portraiture, and his elevation of etching to a fine art. His approx...