Joseph Interpreting the Dreams of His Fellow Prisoners
The Book of Genesis tells how Joseph was imprisoned alongside the pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker. Both men turned to Joseph to interpret mysterious dreams. In Joseph’s reading, the cupbearer’s vision of a blossoming vine heralded his restoration to favor, while the baker’s dream of birds eating from a basket on his head foretold his execution. The unidentified painter of this massive panel imagined the biblical story as a scene from contemporary life, replete with the cupbearer’s fashionably striped hose and the grumpy cat curled at his feet.
Artwork Details
- Title: Joseph Interpreting the Dreams of His Fellow Prisoners
- Artist: Master of the Story of Joseph (Netherlandish, ca. 1500)
- Medium: Oil on wood
- Dimensions: Diameter 61 1/2 in. (156.2 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1953
- Object Number: 53.168
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings
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