Artwork
Tamar and Juda
Tamar and Juda is an oil painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Jacopo Bassano. It dates from 1566 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work underscores themes of disguise, revelation, and divine providence within the narrative of the patriarchal stories.
The painting portrays the biblical episode in which Tamar, disguised as a prostitute, encounters her father-in-law Judah at a campfire, a moment that reveals hidden truths about lineage and justice. The work underscores themes of disguise, revelation, and divine providence within the narrative of the patriarchal stories.
The composition emphasizes the tension between concealment and exposure, with the campfire serving as a symbolic focal point that illuminates the characters’ interaction and the underlying moral lesson.
Technique & Style
Jacopo Bassano executed Tamar and Juda in 1566 using oil paint applied to a canvas support. The work is classified as a religious painting that depicts the biblical figures Tamar and Judah situated near a campfire. Stylistically, the piece adheres to the conventions of religious art, utilizing the medium to render the narrative scene with the characteristic handling associated with the artist's late period. The painting is currently held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
History & Provenance
The painting Tamar and Juda by Jacopo Bassano is dated to 1566, as recorded in both the artist’s corpus and the institutional record of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
Its provenance traces to the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, where it has been part of the collection since at least the late nineteenth century. The work entered the museum’s holdings within a broader acquisition of Bassano’s religious compositions during the period when Habsburg imperial collections were consolidated in the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
The painting is held in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, where it is inventoried as part of the museum’s holdings.
Its exhibition history includes a presentation at the Jacopo Bassano, 1510–1592 exhibition held at the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in 1993–1994.
Overview
Jacopo Bassano’s oil painting Tamar and Juda, executed in 1566, portrays a nocturnal gathering around a modest fire. The composition centers on a kneeling figure near the flames, flanked by others in varied attire, some armored, others in simple dress, with one individual holding a staff. The work is part of the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jacopo Bassano was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Venetian school. He was born and died in Bassano del Grappa, and took the village as his surname. Having trained in the workshop of his father, Francesco the…
