# Joseph Selling Wheat to the People

[View the canonical artwork record](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/breenbergh-bartholomeus-rb1745d1c708566/joseph-selling-wheat-to-the-people-re67680f70347d1>)

## Artwork

- Artist: [BREENBERGH, Bartholomeus](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/breenbergh-bartholomeus-rb1745d1c708566>)
- Date: 1601-1650
- Technique: Oil on canvas, 110,5 x 90 cm

## Commentary

Breenbergh returned to Amsterdam from Italy by 1633. He crafted here meticulous Italianate settings for biblical themes such as this picture. He marked the city as Egyptian by his inclusion of an obelisk, but the church at upper right, in front of which Joseph authorizes the sale, faithfully copies a Roman church. As in many seventeenth-century paintings, a vaguely classical town basking in rosy light sufficed to evoke a Mediterranean, biblical past. &lt;P&gt; &lt;TABLE ALIGN=LEFT CELLPADDING=5 BORDER=1 WIDTH=320 BGCOLOR=&#34;\#99CCCC&#34;&gt; &lt;TR VALIGN=MIDDLE&gt;&lt;TD&gt;&lt;IMG SRC=&#34;/support/gif/listen.gif&#34; BORDER=0 VALIGN=MIDDLE&gt; Suggested listening \(streaming mp3, 5 minutes\):&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A HREF=&#34;\#&#34; onClick=&#34;w=window.open \(&#39;/music1/18\_cent/mehul\_joseph.html&#39;, &#39;newWin&#39;, &#39;scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=350,height=350&#39;\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return true&#34;&gt;&lt;B&gt;Étienne Nicolas Méhul: Joseph, aria&lt;/B&gt;&lt;/A&gt; &lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;

## Related artworks

- [Apostle Thomas](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/breenbergh-bartholomeus-rb1745d1c708566/apostle-thomas-r6af30e0e6aa510>)
- [Christ and the Nobleman of Capernaum](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/breenbergh-bartholomeus-rb1745d1c708566/christ-and-the-nobleman-of-capernaum-r1bf6e503e57cf7>)
- [Diana and Her Nymphs](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/breenbergh-bartholomeus-rb1745d1c708566/diana-and-her-nymphs-r799ef133c5aad3>)
- [Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/breenbergh-bartholomeus-rb1745d1c708566/elijah-and-the-widow-of-zarephath-rfd7d8aab1308d5>)
- [Idealised View with Roman Ruins, Sculptures, and a Port](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/breenbergh-bartholomeus-rb1745d1c708566/idealised-view-with-roman-ruins-sculptures-and-a-port-rea4d7b1ebf2565>)
- [Landscape with the Finding of Moses](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/breenbergh-bartholomeus-rb1745d1c708566/landscape-with-the-finding-of-moses-r1daec6aae23c51>)
- [Ruins of the City Walls, near Porta S Paolo, Rome](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/breenbergh-bartholomeus-rb1745d1c708566/ruins-of-the-city-walls-near-porta-s-paolo-rome-r7b944a3b18051e>)
- [The Finding of Moses](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/breenbergh-bartholomeus-rb1745d1c708566/the-finding-of-moses-rdfd4a8481d6667>)
- [The Preaching of St John the Baptist \(detail\)](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/breenbergh-bartholomeus-rb1745d1c708566/the-preaching-of-st-john-the-baptist-detail-r9f02d6c6e287be>)
- [The Preaching of St John the Baptist](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/breenbergh-bartholomeus-rb1745d1c708566/the-preaching-of-st-john-the-baptist-r817ee7ee23fd4a>)

## Attribution

[Web Gallery of Art](<https://beta.wga.hu/pages/about>)