Joseph sold to Potiphar
Pontormo, 1515
This oil on panel by Pontormo, dated around 1515, depicts Joseph sold to Potiphar, an episode from Genesis in which Joseph, handed over by his brothers, enters the household of this Egyptian official. It was originally painted for the Marriage Chamber of the Palazzo Borgherini in Florence and belongs to a group of scenes from Joseph's story now held at the National Gallery in London. Alongside The Baker Tortured, Joseph in Egypt and Joseph's Brothers Ask Him For Help, it shares the same original decorative setting, which allows the cycle to be read as a single narrative conceived for one specific domestic space. As a painting on panel, it rewards close looking at how the figures are arranged within the space. Its importance lies in showing how Pontormo turned a biblical story into an intimate, orderly narrative, typical of early sixteenth-century Florentine painting.
- Painter
- Pontormo
- Date
- 1515
- Medium
- oil paint, panel
- Dimensions
- 58 × 50 cm
- Museum
- National Gallery, London
- Genre
- religious art
- Depicts
- Potiphar, Joseph
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