Bible Art

The Story of Joseph
Artist: Biagio d'Antonio
1485 Painting

Drawn from the Old Testament, a series of continuous narratives depicts episodes from the life of Joseph, the favorite son of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob. To make the story easier to follow, Biagio d'Antonio included inscriptions identifying the principal characters.

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 hand, Jacob mourns his son, whom he believes to be dead.

A companion panel in the Metropolitan Museum of Art depicts the next sequence of events in Joseph's life. Originally framed next to one another, these two panels would have been inserted into the paneling of a room in a Tuscan family's home.

The Story of Joseph (The Gates of Paradise)
Artist: Lorenze Ghiberti
1425-52 Relief

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Ghiberti's first set of doors for the Florence Baptistery are admired for the quality of their design and execution and stand as exemplars of the International Gothic style. However, his second set, christened by Michelangelo, the "Gates of Paradise," emphatically confirmed his genius and secured him his place in the pantheon. The two doors each feature five gilded bronze panels showing amalgamated scenes from the Old Testament. Around the panels there is a frame that contains representations of famous Biblical figures and contemporary artists (and even the heads of Ghiberti and his son, Vittorio). In the Joseph panel, Ghiberti combines the narratives of Joseph cast by his brethren into the well; Joseph sold to the merchants; the merchants delivering Joseph to the Pharoah; Joseph interpreting the Pharaoh's dream; the Pharaoh paying him honour; Jacob sending his sons to Egypt; and Joseph recognizing his brothers and returning home.

This bronze is in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence

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The Bible, its themes, events and characters, are the subject of many of mankind's finest works of art.

Here, we endeavor to present a myriad of examples from the history of art.

Most items will contain information about the particular piece, and/or the artist who created it. Also, many entries provide links that will take you to the Bible story to which the image is related.

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