Joseph Interpreting the Prisoners’ Dreams (c.1638)

Flinck, Govert (1615-1660)

Joseph Interpreting the Prisoners’ Dreams
c.1638
Pen and brown ink, with brush and brown wash, on ivory laid paper, 17.3 × 20.6 cm
Art Institute of ChicagoChicago

For many years, this drawing was believed to be by Rembrandt. Recent efforts to distinguish Rembrandt’s drawings from those of his pupils have led scholars to reattribute this work to Govert Flinck, who studied with Rembrandt in the 1630s and later achieved great critical and financial success. Here Flinck represented a scene from the life of Joseph, the Old Testament figure whose adventures inspired many drawings, paintings, and even plays in Rembrandt’s time. (AIC)