Joseph and Potiphar's Wife (B., Holl. 39; H. 118)

Details

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn
Joseph and Potiphar's Wife (B., Holl. 39; H. 118)
etching, 1634, second, final state, a good but later impression, on simili-Japan (?), with wide margins, a short tear and minor associated wear at the upper sheet edge, similar minor defects at the lower sheet edge, a small brown stain in the lower margin, a thin brown line on the reverse
P. 88 x 115 mm., S. 117 x 135 mm.

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Lot Essay

The story of Potiphar's wife trying to seduce the servant Joseph was a popular one, but few treatments of the subject were as bold as Rembrandt's. Joseph's horror of adultery is here vividly conveyed through his physical distaste for the exposed view of the woman's fleshy and unidealised body.

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