Object Description
A large French Orientalist Biblical painting by H.F. Schopin
Oil-on-canvas, 1868
Frame: height 72cm, width 95cm, depth 7cm
Canvas: height 57cm, width 80cm
This wonderful Orientalist painting is by the French artist Henri Frédéric Schopin (1804-1880), and takes a biblical scene for its subject, bearing similarities with other biblical works by the same artist. Set within a giltwood frame, and signed and dated to the lower left ‘H. Schopin 1868,’ it potentially depicts either Jacob or his son Joseph.
Scenes from the life of Joseph are known from Schopin’s oeuvre, such as that of ‘Joseph sold by his brothers’, (this could be Joseph before Potiphar). However, the main figure has the affect of a free man, rather than someone just sold, and his depiction is remarkably similar to that of the figure of Jacob in the work ‘Lapan receiving Jacob into his family’ attributed to Schopin (sold at Christie’s in 2001) down to the hair, face, curve of the staff and even the red cloth belt around his waist in both works.
Both the figures and the landscape off into the distance of the left of the painting have been expertly executed. The confidence and maturity of the main character have been superbly conveyed, as have the different personalities of all the other figures, from the women in the front, the curiosity of the men in the background: even the inquisitivity of the dog at his feet. Not a great deal is known about the artist, unfortunately, although he was winner of the Prix de Rome for painting in 1831, and had an exceptional talent and penchant for Biblical scenes, as demonstrated by this superb work. It is signed, dated, and mounted in a beautiful and fitting ornate giltwood frame.