# Esau Selling his Birthright to Jacob [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [BORTOLONI, Mattia]() - Date: 1701-1750 - Technique: Fresco ## Commentary The frescoes in the Villa Cornaro are Bortolini's first known works. The works on the first floor focus on episodes from the Old Testament, while those on the upper floor are derived from the New Testament. On the first floor, the small rooms to the left of the main hall are dedicated to the narration of the stories of Moses and King Solomon, while those to the right are reserved for episodes relating to Noah, Abraham, and Jacob. The images are extremely simplified in the presentation of the subject matter. The scene of Esau Selling his Birthright to Jacob is set in their father, Isaac's humble kitchen, where, clearly visible in the centre, is a hearth with a pot of boiling lentils that is the prize being bartered between the brothers, who are the sole protagonists of the event. ## Related artworks - [Construction of the Tower of Babel]() - [Cupola vault]() - [Gathering of the Harvest]() - [Hagar in the Desert]() - [Jacob Tricking Isaac and Receiving his Blessing]() - [Judgment of Solomon]() - [The Flood]() - [The Sacrifice of Isaac]() - [Transport of the Ark]() - [View of a room on the first floor]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()