Jozef en de vrouw van Potifar 1643

Curator: Oh, I am immediately swept up in the drama of this composition! It feels operatic, wouldn't you say? Editor: Definitely a sense of high drama here. What we're looking at is a print from 1643 entitled "Jozef en de vrouw van Potifar," currently held at the Rijksmuseum. It depicts the biblical scene of Joseph and Potiphar's wife. Focusing on the materials, you can appreciate the intricacy achieved through engraving, particularly for prints of this era. Curator: Intricacy is one word, but for me, it's the raw emotion, the sheer force of rejection etched into Joseph's hasty retreat! The story, of course, is right there: the wronged and scorned woman reaching for the fleeing object of her desire. A tug of war on so many levels, both physical and emotional! Editor: Look at how class distinctions and labor are represented: Potiphar's wife reclining amid luxurious textiles that only wealthy households had access to. It implies that their elevated social status gives the right to engage in behaviors seen in a completely different light when performed by common people, whose behavior could cause severe economic implications. Curator: Yes, a world defined by its material excesses. Yet there's something quite tender about the detail... like that urn next to her bed. All the careful crosshatching elevates something everyday, a basic object becomes... monumental. It elevates the humdrum, like an item in a fairy tale! Editor: Consider also the labor required to produce that urn – the mining of the raw materials, the skills of the artisan. Here’s another, connected observation. The choice of making and owning an object of beauty signifies social position through both ownership and artistic creation – the artist of this scene could create beauty for themselves if someone from the noble classes had not paid him a fee for his engraving. Curator: Exactly, what is the story being portrayed versus what went into getting this picture *made*. Fascinating. Well, I find that even after digging in that dirt a moment or two that Joseph’s defiance still hits me! Editor: And it is important that that defiance remains the focal point, just as you identified it at the start of our dialogue, while the means and cost to obtain that scene often stays veiled. Thank you for sharing your light!