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| − | <p>One of the most dramatic scenes in the Yosef narrative is when he is sold as a slave. The three artworks shown here, the image from the <i>Hortus Deliciarum</i>,<fn>The Hortus Deliciarum is a 12th century illuminated encyclopedia compiled by a nun named Herrad of Landsberg at the Hohenburg Abbey in Alsace; The original manuscript was destroyed in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War, but by then many of the images had already been reproduced though no full facsimile exists.</fn> the engraving by Gustave Doré,<fn>Gustave Doré (1832–1883) was a French artist, printmaker, and illustrator.  This engraving was made as part of 241 images for <i>La Grande Bible de</i> Tours (1866), an illustrated edition of the 1843 French translation of the Vulgate Bible.</fn> and the lithograph by an unknown artist,<fn>This illustration was published in 1907 by the Providence Lithograph Company.</fn> all depict the | + | <p>One of the most dramatic scenes in the Yosef narrative is when he is sold as a slave. The three artworks shown here, the image from the <i>Hortus Deliciarum</i>,<fn>The Hortus Deliciarum is a 12th century illuminated encyclopedia compiled by a nun named Herrad of Landsberg at the Hohenburg Abbey in Alsace; The original manuscript was destroyed in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War, but by then many of the images had already been reproduced though no full facsimile exists.</fn> the engraving by Gustave Doré,<fn>Gustave Doré (1832–1883) was a French artist, printmaker, and illustrator.  This engraving was made as part of 241 images for <i>La Grande Bible de</i> Tours (1866), an illustrated edition of the 1843 French translation of the Vulgate Bible.</fn> and the lithograph by an unknown artist,<fn>This illustration was published in 1907 by the Providence Lithograph Company.</fn> all depict the scene. The different renderings of the merchants, brothers, and Yosef raise questions as to who participated in the sale, the identity of the merchants, and the nature of Yosef's coat.</p></div> |
<category>Contrasting Images | <category>Contrasting Images | ||
<subcategory>Hortus Deliciarum | <subcategory>Hortus Deliciarum | ||
Version as of 05:53, 26 April 2023
Sale of Yosef in Art
Introduction
One of the most dramatic scenes in the Yosef narrative is when he is sold as a slave. The three artworks shown here, the image from the Hortus Deliciarum,1 the engraving by Gustave Doré,2 and the lithograph by an unknown artist,3 all depict the scene. The different renderings of the merchants, brothers, and Yosef raise questions as to who participated in the sale, the identity of the merchants, and the nature of Yosef's coat.
Contrasting Images
Hortus Deliciarum
The Hortus Deliciarum is the most static of the images, depicting only the various characters of the story and almost no activity. The eleven brothers stand in a group to the left, each dressed similarly in rich colored cloaks. Yosef is significantly younger than them, and uniquely dressed in a striped garment.4 He looks back at his brothers as he is taken by the Yishmaelites, perhaps accusingly, perhaps just perplexed. Two merchants are portrayed on the right. One stands by the loaded donkeys, while the other grasps Yosef by the arm and pays the brothers.
Gustave Doré
Dore's print highlights the merchants rather than the brothers. Several sit upon the camels, while others stand in a half circle around Yosef. The image divides them into two groups, with some colored in light shades and others in dark. Yosef himself is garbed in white, with no evidence of his "כְּתֹנֶת פַּסִּים" anywhere in the image. As he faces one of the merchants, his back is to the viewer, leaving his expression unknown. In the top right of the image, the brothers stand in a group, presumably dividing up the money from the sale.
Providence Lithograph
In this colorful image, only five of the brothers are depicted. They stand in a semi-circle, waiting for the elder brother to divvy up the money from the sale. The brother in the corner of the picture holds a colored garment, presumably, Yosef's cloak. None of them pay attention to the pleading Yosef as he is led away by a merchant to the trail of camels.
Relationship to the Biblical Text
The artists' choices reflect certain ambiguities in the Biblical text and different possible interpretive stances:
Number of Brothers
The Hortus Deliciarum has all the brothers participate in the sale, while Dore and the unknown portray only a few of them (seven and five respectively). How many brothers were actually present during the sale? Most readers assume that everyone but Reuven and Binyamin played a part. The text, though, is ambiguous. Only Yehuda is mentioned by name and the number of accompanying brothers is not explicit. R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, in fact, suggests that half the brothers were shepherding with Reuven when the Midianite merchants passed, and these were unaware of the sale. See Who Sold Yosef for more.
כְּתֹנֶת פַּסִּים
The unknown artist paints Yosef's cloak in solid colors while in the Hortus Deliciarum it is portrayed as a striped garment.5 Which depiction best matches a "כְּתֹנֶת פַּסִּים"? Though readers versed in modern Hebrew assume that the phrase refers to a striped coat, the meaning of the word "פַּסִּים" is unclear in Biblical Hebrew. It appears in only two other places in Tanakh, in Shemuel II 13:18-19,6 where it can refer to any adjective that might be applied to a tunic, and, in Aramaic, in Daniel 5:5 where it seems to mean the palm of a hand. Commentators in Bereshit, thus, offer an array of possible meanings including: long sleeved, embroidered, striped, colored, and ankle-length.7
Midianites or Yishmaelites?
In Mascagni's image, the merchants appear as a cohesive group, all dressed similarly. In Flavitsky's painting, on the other hand, the merchants are a motley crew. Some are dark skinned while others are light; some are bare-chested while others are more richly garbed. The different portrayals might relate to a difficulty in the Biblical text. While Bereshit 37:25,27 and the end of verse 28, speak of selling Yosef to the Yishmaelites, the beginning of verse 28 as well as verse 36 speak instead of Midianite merchants. What is the relationship between these two groups? Are they simply different names for the same people?8 Did the caravan contain traders of multiple ethnicities,9 or was Yosef later resold from one group of slave traders to another?10 See Who Sold Yosef.
"When he pleaded with us…"
All three artists show Yosef pleading for mercy in various degrees of intensity.11 Interestingly, in Bereshit 37, there is no mention at all of Yosef's reaction to the sale. It is only in Chapter 42, when Yosef accuses the brothers of spying, that we hear from the brothers, "אֲשֵׁמִים אֲנַחְנוּ עַל אָחִינוּ אֲשֶׁר רָאִינוּ צָרַת נַפְשׁוֹ בְּהִתְחַנְנוֹ אֵלֵינוּ וְלֹא שָׁמָעְנוּ". It is unclear if Yosef's anguished cries were a response to being thrown into the pit or to the sale.12 Moreover, why does the text share this fact only at this later point in the story?13
