Joseph showing his father and brothers to the Pharaoh
XVII century. Oil on canvas.On display elsewhere
The story narrated in this painting draws its inspiration from a synthesis of two passages from the biblical account of Joseph´s life in Egypt in the Book of Genesis. Gutiérrez set the scene in an imaginary palace, conceived almost as the interior of a domed temple. The doors of the palace reveal cloisters, staircases and porticoes that are completely unreal but very characteristic of the artist. He liked to mix prints or engravings of fantastical architecture to convey magnificence and grandeur.
Furthermore, on this occasion, as he did in his "Supper at the Pharisee´s House" (Collegiate Church of Villagarcía de Campos, Valladolid), he has covered the walls of the palace with an endless series of paintings, among which we can identify the themes of Abraham and the three angels, Atlas holding up the world –probably a copy of the one Rubens painted for the Torre de la Parada– and Titius. In addition, other paintings of battles and architecture with figures in the same style can be identified, all arranged as if it were a collector´s cabinet painting in a biblical version. The lively gestures of the small figures are typical of Gutiérrez and bear a close resemblance to Juan de la Corte’s paintings. However, this is probably because they both drew from the same engraved sources.
Urrea, Jesús, Pintores del reinado de Felipe IV, Madrid, Museo del Prado-Caja de Ahorros de Navarra, 1994, p.74
