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148 x 218 cm
Oil on canvas


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The Jacob's Dream

The subject

This painting tells the story of Jacob’s dream as described in the Old Testament. It is the story of the son of Isaac, also known as Israel, who would give his name to the Jewish people. Running away after robbing his brother Esau of his primogeniture, Jacob stopped to rest outside and leaned his head against a rock; falling asleep he had a strange dream:

 

“He dreamed. Behold, a stairway set upon the earth, and its top reached to heaven. Behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it. Behold, Yahweh stood above it, and said, “…I am with you, and will keep you, wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken of to you...” (Genesis 28:12-17).

 

This was a highly popular theme and a subject of great reverence, given the significance of a direct dialogue between man and God. An iconographic subject that has remained alive throughout the ages and drawn the attention of many artists who dedicated themselves to depicting this event.


The painting

Giuliano Briganti attributed the work to Daniele Seiter (written communication on 24 May 1991), a painter of Austrian origin who completed his studies in Italy thanks to an apprenticeship in the workshop of Carlo Loth. His long stay on the peninsula enabled him to extensively visit the most important and striking locations including Florence, Rome, Lombardy, Emilia and finally Turin, where he lived for many years following direct contact with the Court of Savoy around 1687.

This work was probably completed during his most mature period, in view of the presence of elements that refer to the Bolognese culture of the late 17th century, in particular to Cantarini and Cignani and in the anatomical forms of the body of Jacob, while a reminiscence of the Venetian style characterizes the background landscape.

Seiter managed to balance elements from diverse cultural origins in an extremely spontaneous compositional style that reflects a flavour of mature Roman Baroque.

The painting was thus dated to around the end of the ninth decade of the 17th century as evident in comparisons with several decorative works completed for the Palazzo Reale in Turin, specifically the large fresco portraying Victor Emmanuel II on Mount Olympus, which decorates the vault of the ‘Daniele’ gallery.