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Lucas van Leyden

Joseph Interprets the Dreams in Prison

1512
engraving

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In the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland · as of July 2026

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FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG

In the book of Genesis, Joseph, a son of Jacob, is the model of a righteous man who overcomes adversity by following God. This scene shows how, imprisoned in Egypt, two fellow prisoners ask Joseph to interpret their dreams. On the right, we see the cupbearer’s dream, in which he squeezes grapes into the pharaoh’s cup to offer wine. Joseph interprets this to mean that the man will be released and restored to his former life. The baker’s dream, on the left, unfortunately has the opposite interpretation, leading to the man’s execution. According to Christian people, the wine and bread references also foretell Christ’s death and resurrection.

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