# Joseph's Tunic

Joseph's Tunic (Spanish: La túnica de José) is a 1630 oil painting by Spanish artist Diego Velázquez, now held in the museum of the Sacristía Mayor del Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial (Madrid, Spain). The painting depicts a scene from the Old Testament (Genesis, 37-50) of Joseph's brothers presenting his bloody robe to their father, Jacob. It was painted on Velázquez's first journey to Rome, within the house of the Sixth Count of Monterrey, don Manuel de Fonseca y Zúñiga, a Spanish ambassador. However, it was then brought back to Spain with another one of Velázquez's paintings, Apollo in the Forge of Vulcan.
Despite Joseph's Tunic being a depiction of a biblical story and Apollo in the Forge of Vulcan being a mythological scene, the two paintings are sometimes considered a pair. They were both painted in 1630 by Velázquez on his journey to Rome and brought back to Spain. Moreover, both were done without royal commission to fund the work, but did eventually end up in the Spanish royal collection. The dark shadows and earthy-warm color palate found in both pieces are indicative of a shared Spanish Baroque style, common characteristics for Velázquez's artwork during that time period. Another similarity being that they both contain the same number of figures, potentially being a deliberate choice by Velázquez in order to unite the two paintings and show how, though different stories, both can use dramatic realism to convey moments of revelation and emotional reactions.

## Scene description

The biblical narrative that this scene comes from tells the story of Joseph and his brothers. Joseph is one of eleven sons of their father, Jacob. Joseph is the favorite, but also had been having powerful dreams that made him even more beloved by Jacob. Five of his brothers were jealous and angry about the favoritism, and so they decide to betray Joseph. They sold him to the Ishmaelite caravan for slavery, hoping this would permanently get rid of him. Then, they took one of Joseph's robes and dipped it in goat blood to bring to their father. The moment shown in this painting is of the five brothers presenting the robe to Jacob, him recognizing the garment, and being devastated that his favorite son had inevitably been devoured by a wild beast and "torn to pieces."
There have been many paintings of these scene, but Velázquez's version seem to have two of the brothers in the center of the scene, thought to be Ruben and Simeon, presenting the coat of Jacob and explaining the situation. They seem to expressing of distress or worry. To their left, there is another brother turning away completely, seemingly overcome with remorse that he is unable to look a their father's reaction. This is potentially thought to be Judas, since he was the one in the story who empathized with Joseph and convinced the others to sell him to slavery rather then kill him. On the far right, there is Jacob almost falling out of his chair after receiving the news that Joseph is dead, with the shocking force of the news causing his to drop his walking stick. Jacob's dynamic position effectively conveys his extreme distress. Finally, there is a small dog barking at the brothers in the bottom right corner, almost as if it sees the brother's mischievous intentions.

## Style and techniques

The piece is consistent with the Spanish Baroque Period, as evidenced by the intense use of dark shadows, sense of movement, and realistic depiction of the figures. Velázquez utilizes chiaroscuro to convey the volume of the three men on the left. The viewer’s attention is drawn to each of these figures, as the dramatic contrast between light and dark shadows accentuates their presence. Light appears to enter from the upper right hand corner of the scene, directly illuminating the distressed facial expression of the brothers holding a tunic splattered in blood.
Velázquez depicts each of the figures in a state of motion, elevating the intensity of the scene. A section of the carpet folds upward as a man lunging across the frame forcefully presses his bare foot into the fabric. The direction of his movement draws the viewer’s attention back towards Reuben and Simeon. The gaze of the viewer is further directed towards the brothers, as the dog lunges in their direction with his chest lowered to the floor and tail pointed upward.