Artwork
Roundel with Joseph Buying Corn in Egypt
Roundel with Joseph Buying Corn in Egypt is an unspecified painting. It dates from 1520 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Through its depiction of a man and a horse within a roundel, the work emphasizes the episode of Joseph obtaining grain in Egypt.
The roundel painting illustrates the biblical episode of Joseph buying corn in Egypt, dated to circa 1520. The composition centers on a male figure, identified as Joseph, accompanied by a horse, suggesting the act of purchase. The circular format focuses attention on the exchange, highlighting the narrative moment of resource acquisition.
Through its depiction of a man and a horse within a roundel, the work emphasizes the episode of Joseph obtaining grain in Egypt.
Technique & Style
The work is a small circular painting, or roundel, dated to 1520 and classified as a painting. It belongs to the anonymous corpus of early sixteenth‑century images that depict Joseph in Egypt, and it is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection. The composition centers on a horse and a man, illustrating the moment of Joseph buying corn.
As a roundel, the piece employs a compact, balanced layout typical of devotional panels of the period, with a clear narrative focus and restrained detail. Its formal qualities reflect the stylistic conventions of early Renaissance narrative painting, emphasizing clarity of figure and spatial economy.
History & Provenance
The Roundel with Joseph Buying Corn in Egypt is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work, an anonymous painting created in 1520, depicts a scene involving a man and a horse. While the source confirms the museum's possession and the specific subject matter, it does not provide a specific inventory or accession number for the piece. Additionally, the available records do not detail a specific exhibition history for this roundel.
Overview
This circular painting, titled Roundel with Joseph Buying Corn in Egypt, illustrates a biblical narrative. The composition centers on a regal figure, identified as Joseph, who stands before a structure, surrounded by other individuals and an animal. The artist employs dramatic contrasts of light and shadow, known as chiaroscuro, to enhance the scene's three-dimensional quality and direct attention to the central protagonist. Textural richness is achieved through the application of impasto.
Artist & collection
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