Seated on the bed, she pulls at the cloak.
Bible in art · Genesis
Joseph Escaping Potiphar's Wife
Lucas van Leyden · 1512
National Gallery of Art, Washington
This plate belongs to Lucas van Leyden’s series of 1512 on the story of Joseph. The room is drawn like a Netherlandish bedchamber, with a curtained bed and a table under a fringed cloth.
Potiphar’s wife, seated on the edge of the bed, grabs Joseph’s cloak with both hands. Joseph pulls away and runs, arms spread. A jug and slippers lie on the floor, with a feathered hat. Two women look in from a door.
From the text
- She grabbed Joseph by his cloak (Genesis 39:12)
- He left the cloak in her hand and ran outside (Genesis 39:12)
The artist’s own
- Two women watching from a doorway — the text says no servant was inside (Genesis 39:11)
- A spilled jug, slippers and a feathered hat on the floor
- Clothes and furniture of Lucas’s own time
Details
Potiphar’s wife
Joseph
He breaks away and runs, arms spread.
On the floor
A spilled jug and a slipper.
At the door
Two women look in.
Lucas van Leyden, Netherlandish, c. 1489/94–1533. National Gallery of Art, Washington (Rosenwald Collection, 1943.3.5660) · Engraving · NGA Open Access: "Images of these works are available free of charge for any use, commercial or non-commercial, under Creative Commons Zero (CC0)." (NGA open data: published_images.csv openaccess = 1)