The two images below tell the story of the pit and the selling. On the left is an image by Karoly Ferenczy. Painted in 1900, the action of the story is in the foreground. Joseph, stripped to the waist, is handed off to white-garbed travelers passing through Jacob's land. At the right, the same story is told by a contemporary artist Yoram Raanan. The action is in the foreground with figures standing around what appears to be a well-like hole.
(Left) Karoly Ferenczy. Josseph Sold by His Brothers Into Slavery. 1900. Magyar Nemzeti Galéria, Budapest. http://mng.hu/gyujtemeny/jozsefet-eladjak-testverei-21148. (Right) Yoram Raanan. Joseph's Brothers Throw Him Into the Pit. http://www.yoramraanan.com/single-post/2015/11/30/Josephs-Brothers-Throw-Him-Into-the-Pit
The two images share a color scheme: brownish-yellow earth tones, blue and white. Both compositions are similar with the action happening at the bottom/front of the painting. But both also remind us of "the rest of the story": that there IS a rest of the story. In both paintings, it is the distant horizon that draws our attention in the upper half of the composition. And that is where we need to at least glance as we read the Joseph cycle. Incidents along the way seem to be the end, but they are not the end. Not the pit, not prison, not famine. There's something more waiting for Joseph, for Joseph's descendants and for the people of God. It's probably a good reminder for us, too.For an additional consideration on Joseph and his brothers, click here.
For a take on the gospel reading for this week, click here.
Click on the Art&Faith Matters Facebook link below for some thoughts on the dreams that got him in trouble with his brothers.
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