Levi

c. 1585; published 1643

Jan Sadeler I after Crispen van den Broecke

Associated Names
Jan Sadeler I

Artist, Netherlandish, 1550 - 1600

Claes Jansz Visscher

Publisher, Dutch, 1586/1587 - 1652

Crispin van den Broeck

Artist After, Netherlandish, 1523 - c. 1591

The image shows a man with his back to the viewer, standing with one arm outstretched to his side. The man has a muscular build and a beard. He wears an ornate gold helmet with blue and green detailing, a green tunic with patterns, a red draped garment, and blue greaves. He is barefoot and holds a flag pole with a blue banner. In the background, there is a battle scene with soldiers and a fortified structure. The ground is grassy and there is text at the bottom of the image.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    hand-colored engraving on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall (cut within platemark): 22.1 x 14 cm (8 11/16 x 5 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2005.128.5.a

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Hollstein, no. 67, State ii/ii

Associated Artworks

See all 5 artworks

The Twelve Sons of Jacob

Jan Sadeler I, Claes Jansz Visscher

1580

The image depicts a figure, Ruben, standing upright. He is resting one hand on a cow and holding a jug in the other hand. The figure has an old facial expression, with a long gray beard and mustache, and is wearing a blue turban. He wears a colorful robe and a sash, standing on grass next to a cow and a goat. In the background, there is a landscape with a small house, hills, trees, buildings, and a sky with clouds.

Ruben

Jan Sadeler I, Claes Jansz Visscher

1585

The image shows a man standing on a grassy embankment near the sea. He is standing with one leg bent and the other straight, holding a large red oar in his right hand that rests on the ground. He has a beard and curly, shoulder-length hair, wearing a white cap with gold accents, a red cloak over his shoulders, and a belted tunic. In the background, there is a coastal scene with ships sailing in the water and one onshore. A large anchor is to the right of the man, and in the distance, there is a clear sky with a banner reading "ZEBULON" above him.

Zebulon

Jan Sadeler I, Claes Jansz Visscher

1585

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Kunsthandlung Helmut H. Rumbler, Frankfurt am Main); purchased 2005 by NGA.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1949

  • Hollstein, F.W.H. et al. Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts, ca. 1450-1700. 72 vols. Amsterdam, 1980: XXI (Johannes Sadeler I), no. 67, ii/ii.

1993

  • The New Hollstein Dutch & Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts, 1450-1700. (Crispijn van den Broeck, Ursula Mielke, author). Ouderkerk aan den Ijssel: Sound & Vision Publishers, 2011: Part I, no. 55, ii/ii.

Inscriptions

upper center in plate: LEVI; lower right in plate: J Sae. F. / .3.; in margin below image, in plate: Sichemitarum regem cur fr[atr]e necaui, / Disiecique urbis moenia celsa ferox. / Propterea Leui poenas fert, nil propriumq[ue] / Possidet, in certo nec manet ipse loco. (With my brother I slew the king of the Sichemites, and wildly I cast down the city's high walls. For this Levi bears punishment. He has nothing of his own, nor a settled abode. [translation from Veldman, Ilja M., and H. J. de Jonge, "The sons of Jacob: the twelve patriarchs in sixteenth-century Netherlandish prints and popular literature," Simiolus, vol. 15 (1985), no. 3, p. 195.])

Wikidata ID

Q76343296

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