RIBERA, Jusepe de
(b. 1591, Játiva, d. 1652, Napoli)

Jacob Receives Isaac's Blessing

1637
Oil on canvas, 110 x 292 cm
Museo del Prado, Madrid

This painting narrates an event from chapter 27 of Genesis, in which Jacob tricks his father, Isaac, in order to obtain the blessing that should rightfully go to his older brother, Esau. Jacob’s mother, Rebecca, helps him dress in Esau’s clothes and cover his arm with a sheepskin that resembles his brother’s abundant body hair. He then takes food to his elderly, blind father, Isaac, thus inducing him to confuse him with Esau. This was a very common subject among 17th-century Italian painters, but was rarely depicted in Spain.