Joseph Sold by His Brothers (from the ‘Stories of Joseph’)

Ubertini Francesco called Bachiacca

(Borgo San Lorenzo 1494 - Florence 1557)

Together with three other panels showing The Arrest of Simeon (inv. no. 425), The Search for the Stolen Cup (inv. no. 440) and Recovery of the Stolen Cup (inv. no. 442), this painting was first mentioned in connection with the Borghese Collection in 1650, when Iacomo Manilli ascribed it to Raphael. It is, rather, a refined composition by the young Florentine painter Bachiacca, the student of Perugino who in 1515-16 took part in embellishing the famous bridal chamber of Pierfrancesco Borgherini, together with other artists. The series of panels, now dispersed, depict episodes of the life of Joseph, son of Jacob (Genesis 37-50); the present work formed part of the decoration of the pedestal of the marriage bed, together with three other works in the Borghese Collection.

The painting in question represents Joseph, one of Jacob’s twelve sons. He is portrayed here wearing a pink cloak and a broad green mantle as he is escorted to Egypt by several men, who most likely form part of the Ishmaelite caravan to whom the unfortunate Joseph was sold as a slave by his own brothers, according to the Biblical narrative. A group of men are visible in the rocky background, together with a donkey and another man with a straw hat: the latter is perhaps Simeon, one of Joseph’s brothers, whose arrest is depicted in another panel of the series (inv. no. 425).

Object details

Commentary

‘[He] executed many little figures on the coffers and the panelling, which are known by the manner, being different from the others’ (Vasari 1568). Thus did Giorgio Vasari describe the paintings executed by the Florentine artist Francesco Ubertini, called Bachiacca, for the Borgherini bridal chamber. A student of Perugino, Ubertini took part in what was one of the most magnificent commissions in Florence in the second decade of the 16th century, which was made by Salvi Borgherini in 1515 for the nuptials of his son Pierfrancesco and Margherita Acciaiuoli. Bachiacca in fact painted six of the scenes for the decorative programme. Two of these are held at the National Gallery in London (Joseph Receives His Brothers, inv. no. 1218; Joseph Pardons His Brothers, inv. no. 1219), while the other four form part of the Borghese Collection (inv. nos. 425, 427, 440 and 442). As we have seen, Vasari judged Ubertini’s panels to be ‘different from the others’ (Vasari 1568). The remaining works of the series were in fact commissioned to Andrea del Sarto (Stories of Joseph’s Childhood, Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams), to Jacopo Pontormo (Joseph Sold to Potiphar, Pharaoh with his Butler and Baker, Joseph’s Brothers Beg for Help, Joseph with Jacob in Egypt) and to Francesco Granacci (Joseph’s Arrest, Joseph Presents His Father and Brothers to Pharoah): these other works are held today in Florence (Uffizi Gallery, Palazzo Pitti) and London (National Gallery).

This elaborate decorative programme was conceived to embellish the furnishings of the marriage chamber of the newlyweds, in accordance with the taste of the era. The design of the room was entrusted to Baccio d’Agnolo, who made ‘panelling, chests, chairs, and a bed, all carved in walnut wood’ (Vasari 1568) and decorated with paintings depicting episodes from the life of Joseph (Genesis 37-50). As is well known, this subject was an apt one for highlighting the qualities of the perfect bridegroom, who like the Egyptian viceroy had to be an able administrator of his household. He was also expected to be faithful to his wife, exercising the same restraint shown by Joseph when he rebuffed the advances of Potiphar’s wife. Finally, the theme served to wish the couple a progeny as numerous as that of Joseph’s father Jacob.

As we can well imagine, this sophisticated display – terminated in 1517 – attracted the attention of refined collectors, beginning with the Medici. In 1529, the Florentine family indeed wished to donate the works to Francis I of France, yet they were fiercely opposed by Margherita Acciaiuoli, who refused the request. The noblewoman’s stinging response to Giovanni Battista della Palla, the agent of the French king who had attempted to dismantle the furnishings to take the much-valued panels, is well known: ‘[...] you base junk dealer! You two-bit trader! [...] this bed that you’re hoping to obtain for your personal interest and cupidity [...] is my marriage bed. My father-in-law Salvi honoured our nuptials by having these magnificent, regal furnishings made, which I hold in great esteem in memory of him and for love of my husband, and which I intend to defend tooth and nail with my very life!’ (Vasari 1568; Ranalli 1845).

Unfortunately, Margherita’s protests were in vain, as her own heirs consented to the dismantling of the furnishings several decades later. Indeed, in 1584 Francesco I de’ Medici obtained the panels by Andrea del Sarto and Granacci, while four of the six scenes executed by Ubertini reached Rome, in circumstances that are still not clear. One possibility is that they found their way to the Eternal City through the Medicean prince, who passed them on to Cardinal Ferdinando de’ Medici, who in turn gave them to Cardinal Scipione Borghese when he had to return to Florence to replace his deceased brother. As is known, Scipione received several paintings from the former Florentine cardinal, including two small works on copper (Galleria Borghese, inv. nos 292 and 293) and the panel Cupid and Psyche (Galleria Borghese, inv. no. 010) by Jacopo Zucchi.

Whether or not this hypothesis is valid, what is certain is that the four panels were already in possession of the Borghese family by 1650. At first they were displayed at the Casino di Porta Pinciana, where Iacomo Manilli (1650) saw the works and ascribed them to Raphael. Giovanni Morelli (1897) rejected this attribution and rather proposed the name of Ubertini, rightly identifying the panels as those from Palazzo Borgherini. All subsequent critics have been in agreement (Longhi 1928; De Rinaldis 1937; Berenson 1938; Marcucci 1958; Della Pergola 1959; Freedbreg 1961; Id. 1963; Monti 1965; Nikolenko 1966; Braham 1979; La France 2008), thus putting paid to all other attributions proposed in the past, including those to Giulio Romano (Inv. 1693) and to Orazio Gentileschi (Inv. 1700; Inv. 1790; Inv. Fid. 1833; Piancastelli 1891). In the case of Piancastelli, the attribution to Gentileschi was perhaps influenced by the presence of the work Joseph Tells The Meaning Of The Prisoners' Dreams in the Borghese Collection (inv. no. 148), which in the past had been erroneously ascribed to the artist from Pisa.

Regarding the original location of the panels in the Borgherini bedroom, most scholars (Rosini 1848; Shearman 1965; Braham 1979; Bartoli 1996) believe they were placed in the lower corners of the pedestal of the bed, thus rejecting Vasari’s hypothesis that they embellished the panelling (1568), which perhaps hosted the four scenes which were later dispersed (Monti 1965). From a stylistic point of view, all critics concur that the Florentine painter was acquainted with the respective oeuvres other contemporary painters: the German artist Albrecht Altdörfer, Lucas van Leyden (Bartoli 1996; Stefani 2000), Perugino (Abbate 1965; Nikolenko 1966), Raphael (Abbate 1965), Franciabigio (Marcucci 1958; Mancini 1998) and Andrea del Sarto (Bartoli 1996). With regard to the last-named master, Ubertini ‘was much assisted and favoured by him in matters of art’, in the words of Vasari (1568).

Doubts still persist concerning the interpretation of two of the four scenes, namely the work in question – which some interpret as The Arrest of the Brothers (Della Pergola 1959; Stefani 2000; Herrmann Fiore 2006; Riccardo 2020) – and the one depicting Joseph Sold by His Brothers, which some critics believe to be Simeon Brought to Jail (Braham 1979; Bartoli 1996) and others Joseph Orders Simeon To Be Imprisoned (Dolcini 2010).

The works were executed in 1515-16 (see, most recently, Bartoli 2016). Several autograph drawings have been associated with the panels, including those held in Florence (Uffizi Gallery, inv. no. 350bis), Paris (Louvre, inv. no. 9874) and Vienna (Albertina Museum, inv. no. 152). Over the years, a number of critics have called attention to these drawings, including Morelli (1897), Bernard Berenson (1937), Arthur K. McComb (1926), Giovanna Gaeta Bertelà (1980), Chris Fischer (1984) and, most recently, Beatrice Riccardo (2020).

Antonio Iommelli