Artwork Page for Plate 6: Isaachar

Details / Information for Plate 6: Isaachar

Series Title: The Twelve Sons of Jacob

Plate 6: Isaachar

c. 1589

Jacob de Gheyn II

(Netherlandish, 1565–1629)
author

after Karel I van Mander

(Netherlandish, 1548–1606)
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Culture
Netherlands
Medium
engraving
Measurements
Platemark: 16 x 11 cm (6 5/16 x 4 5/16 in.)
Credit Line
Carole W. and Charles B. Rosenblatt Endowment Fund 2024.145.5
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

The rucksack carried by this Old Testament figure suggests his perpetual travel while the donkey denotes his employment as a laborer.

Description

In this print, the biblical figure Isaachar holds a rucksack while accompanied by a donkey, denoting his destiny to serve and perform hard labor. This is one of a series of prints depicting the twelve sons of Jacob, each with an attribute and costume that denotes his character. According to the Old Testament, Jacob blessed each of his twelve sons, prophesizing the destiny of their tribe, and assigning them a parcel of land in Canaan. The print series was made in the Netherlands in the late 16th century, a time of political struggle when Old Testament heroes were popular exemplars of fortitude and patience.
A vertically oriented black-inked engraving on off-white paper depicts Issachar, a muscular man with light skin, a long pointed beard, and a conical tasseled hat. He wears a tattered tunic and looks toward our right. Beside him, a donkey's head features a visible tear. In the background, a person on a donkey passes a building and tree. Latin text at the bottom includes the name "ISASCHAR." Dense, hatched lines texture the entire scene.

Plate 6: Isaachar

c. 1589

Jacob de Gheyn II, Karel I van Mander

(Netherlandish, 1565–1629), (Netherlandish, 1548–1606)
Netherlands

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