Pietro Liberi, Joseph and Potiphar's Wife, 1600 by Atelier Liesjes

About "Pietro Liberi, Joseph and Potiphar's Wife, 1600"

by Atelier Liesjes

About the artwork

Potiphar ("he who is given by Ra"), according to Genesis, was a courtier and commander of Pharaoh's bodyguard. He bought Joseph as a slave after his brothers sold him. Joseph soon rose to become Potiphar's personal servant and eventually administrator of all Potiphar's possessions.

Joseph was an attractive figure, and his master's wife wanted to seduce him, but Joseph refused. She repeated her request more often, and on one particular day, when she was alone with him, the woman grabbed him by his clothes. Joseph fled, but he left his garment behind.

Then the woman called her servants and claimed about Joseph that he had allegedly entered her room and wanted to rape her. After this false accusation, Potiphar put Joseph in prison for about ten years.

All in all, a sexy and sensual erotic picture with romance.

Pietro (Libertino) Liberi (Padua, 1605 - Oct. 18, 1687) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, mainly active in Venice and Veneto.

He had an adventurous life. He traveled extensively in Italy. During a trip to Istanbul, he was held captive for 8 months by pirates from Tunis. Released via Malta, he visited Sicily, Naples and Pisa. For a few years of his life, he became a mercenary in the forces of cavaliere Antonio Manfredini, fighting for the Duchy of Tuscany against the Saracens. He fought to capture the castle of Sichia, in present-day İskenderun in Turkey. In 1662, he was knighted by the doge Francesco Molino.