1589
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Plate 2: Levi is a 1589 by Jacob de Gheyn II, a Renaissance work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A man in armor stands with a sword in one hand and a bishop’s tall hat in the other. His name is Levi, one of Jacob’s twelve sons from the Bible. This print is part of a set showing all twelve brothers. Each brother gets a symbol that hints at his tribe’s future. Levi’s hat points to his descendants becoming priests. The artist drew every brother in a different costume, almost like trading cards for Bible stories. If you like how this looks, check out the rest of the series by Jacob de Gheyn II (Netherlandish, 1565–1629).
In this print, the biblical figure Levi holds a sword next to a bishop’s mitre, denoting his tribe’s association with the priesthood. This is one of a series of prints depicting the twelve sons of Jacob, each with an attribute and costume that denotes his character. According to the Old Testament, Jacob blessed each of his twelve sons, prophesizing the destiny of their tribe, and assigning them a parcel of land in Canaan (present-day Israel). The print series was made in the Netherlands in the late 16th century, a time of political struggle when Old Testament heroes were popular exemplars of…
The columnar architecture behind this Old Testament figure suggests the future of his tribe as members of the priesthood.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Jacob de Gheyn II was a Dutch painter and engraver, whose work shows the transition from Northern Mannerism to Dutch realism over the course of his career.
See the richer artist page
