Murillo, the first Spanish painter acclaimed across Europe, usually portrayed his subjects as serenely happy. In this unusual piece, however, the conflict between Jacob’s sons dominates the scene. Joseph, a young man in the bible, appears as little more than a child, innocently clothed in white. He lifts an accusing hand to his brothers, directing the eye from the light center to the darker side of the painting, where his unrepentant brothers lurk.
Murillo’s manipulation of light makes the story clear at a glance; the only question lies in the eyes of one brother. The third brother from the right, perhaps Reuben, seems worriedly focused on Joseph’s frantic hand. But the two brothers in the center, oblivious of their guilt, are frozen in the act of hurling Joseph into the cistern.
Then Reuben said, “Do not shed
blood! Throw him into this cistern in the wilderness; but do not lay a hand on
him.”
Genesis 37:22
