Joseph Being Sold by His Brethren

painting by Overbeck

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 29, 2026

Quick Summary

The painting "Joseph Being Sold by His Brethren" is by Johann Friedrich Overbeck, a key figure in the Nazarene movement of German Romantic artists. This group sought to revive medieval art and infuse it with Christian faith.1

The biblical story of Joseph, found in Genesis, tells of his enslavement and rise to prominence in Egypt. Joseph, favored by his father Jacob, was despised and envied by his eleven brothers. They sold him into slavery to Ishmaelites who took him to Egypt. Overbeck and his fellow Nazarenes collaborated on frescoes depicting this event, showcasing their style of precise outlines, clear colors, and Christian symbolism. The story of Joseph is often interpreted as a testament to divine providence and the importance of forgiveness.213

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

4 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Western painting
Germany
…could not escape, in his Joseph Being Sold by His Brethren (1816–17), the self-conscious naïveté common to many of the Nazarenes. This naïveté is also noticeable in Pforr’s The Entry of the Emperor Rudolf of Habsburg into Basel in 1273 (c. 1809) and Schnorr’s The Procession of the Three Magi…
Read More
…could not escape, in his Joseph Being Sold by His Brethren (1816–17), the self-conscious naïveté common to many of the Nazarenes. This naïveté is also noticeable in Pforr’s The Entry of the Emperor Rudolf of Habsburg into Basel in 1273 (c. 1809) and Schnorr’s The Procession of the Three Magi…
Read More