Plate with Joseph sold by his brothers 1545 - 1560

Editor: Here we have a painted earthenware plate, "Plate with Joseph sold by his brothers," created sometime between 1545 and 1560 by Andrea da Negroponte. It’s like a snapshot of a story. The colors are so vibrant and it really makes you want to know more! How do you interpret this work, especially given that it's on a plate? Curator: Plates like this one, my dear, weren't just for eating! Think of them as a Renaissance television set, each one depicting a scene, a story. This is the moment Joseph, the favored son, gets sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, a story from the Bible. It's a rather violent scene, packaged in a pretty, domestic object. Rather unsettling when you consider it, eh? I imagine this hanging on the wall in someone's home! What's also curious is the setting: a sort of fantastic landscape, more theatrical than naturalistic. What sort of landscape setting would you choose to frame such a human drama? Editor: That contrast is so fascinating, violence in a decorative object. The landscape feels very… stage-like, almost cartoonish, pulling me out of any true empathy, now that you point it out. But the Bible on a plate feels, somehow, quite approachable. Curator: Precisely! Approachable. And didactic, a learning opportunity, a talking point over supper! These plates would have sparked conversations, discussions on morality, brotherhood, jealousy. It is kind of amazing to picture it this way, huh? Editor: Definitely! I’m beginning to see that decorative art can carry some pretty heavy ideas. Thanks, I'll never look at a decorative plate the same way. Curator: My pleasure. That is the key isn't it - looking to see, and then to see even more deeply!