3-035-464 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

The Story of Joseph, about 1485. Drawn from the Old Testament, a series of continuous narratives depicts episodes from the life of Joseph, the favourite son of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob. In the left-hand loggia, Jacob, seated on a throne, sends Joseph to his half-brothers tending sheep in the field. In the far left corner, the brothers, jealous of their father's love for Joseph, strip him of his jacket and throw him into a pit. Passing merchants purchase the young boy from his brothers for twenty pieces of silver. In the background to the right, the merchants board the ship that will take them and their cargo to Egypt. In the right-hand loggia, the brothers show a blood-smeared coat to their father as evidence that Joseph is dead. With his head in his hands, Jacob mourns his son, whom he believes to be dead.