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Etching of Joseph

Maarten van Heemskerck, at one point nicknamed “the Raphael of Holland,” perfected his painting technique in Italy in the 1530s. Giorgi Vasari mentions him in his biographies of Italian artists as an able painter of figures and landscapes. He provided the sketch for this etching of Joseph, although he did not do the etching himself. The etching was part of a series on ‘The Triumph of Patience.’ All of the edifying images in the series consist of an allegorical picture with a few lines in Latin that interpret the meaning of the picture.

Stories

  • What’s in Her Name? Zephirach in Haarlem

    story by Dinah Wouters.

    This emblem was designed and published in the Low Countries in 1559. Although it depicts the biblical story of Joseph, which is common literary heritage, one specific detail allows us to make a connection between this picture and a theatrical performance that took place 24 years earlier in the center of Amsterdam. From Haarlem and Amsterdam, the story of this detail will take us on a journey through Europe and through the history of theatre.

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