Artwork Page for Plate 9: Asher

Details / Information for Plate 9: Asher

Series Title: The Twelve Sons of Jacob

Plate 9: Asher

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 2024.145.7
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 castle in the background of this image of Asher, son of Jacob, suggests that food he prepares will be served to kings, as prophesized by his father.

Description

In this print, the biblical figure Asher holds a basket of potatoes and sheaf of wheat, denoting the rich soil and abundant food produced by his tribe. 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 engraving in black ink depicts Asher, a muscular man with a light skin tone, thick beard, and mustache, looking toward our top left. Shaded with fine hash marks, he holds a bundle of wheat and gestures with his left hand toward a woven basket of bread. He leans his right arm on a wooden handle. A stone tower and mountains rise behind him. Latin text is inscribed across the bottom.

Plate 9: Asher

c. 1589

Jacob de Gheyn II, Karel I van Mander

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

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