Joseph and Potiphar's Wife, from "The Story of Joseph"

Art Historical Context

Heinrich Aldegrever's *Joseph and Potiphar Wife*, created in 1532, a dramatic moment from the biblical Book of Genesis in this intimate engraving from his series *The Story of Joseph*. The scene depicts the virtuous Joseph fleeing the seductive advances of Potiphar wife, who clutches his garment as he escapes her grasp. Rendered in fine detail on a diminutive sheet measuring just 4 3/4 x 3 inches, the print highlights figures with swords, men, and women, tension through dynamic poses and expressive gestures. As a leading figure among the German "Little Masters" of the Northern Renaissance, Aldegrever excelled in small-scale engravings like this second state of two, where intricate lines etched into a copper plate allowed for precise shading, textures, and moral symbolism. Produced during the early Reformation era, these prints served as affordable devotional aids, spreading biblical narratives to a wide audience beyond the elite. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department (gift of Edwin De T. Bechtel, 1949), this work exemplifies Aldegrever's mastery of the medium, blending storytelling with technical virtuosity to remind viewers of themes like temptation and fidelity that resonated in 16th-century Europe.

About the Artist

Heinrich Aldegrever · 1502–1561

Heinrich Aldegrever, born in 1502 in Paderborn, Westphalia, to parents Herman and Katherine Trippenmeker—a family of clog-makers known by the dialect name Trippenmecker—emerged as a multifaceted artist in the German Renaissance. His early training remains undocumented, though he likely apprenticed in a Soest goldsmith's workshop after relocating there around 1525, where he joined the painters' gui...