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Pier Francesco Mola

Joseph and his Brethren

c. 1657
Etching on cream laid paper
35.3 × 43.6 cm (13.9 × 17.2 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

The largest and most ambitious of Pier Francesco Mola’s small oeuvre of five etchings, this composition is related to a fresco of the same biblical subject painted by the artist in the Quirinal Palace in Rome. Joseph is shown pardoning his 11 brothers, who jealously sold him into slavery in his youth. As the distant pyramid suggests, the scene takes place in Egypt, where Joseph became an important advisor to the pharaoh, saving the country from famine. His brothers, who remained in Canaan, were starving until they sought Egypt’s help and were thus reunited with Joseph.

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