The scene comes from the Old Testament (Genesis, 39, 7-14) and depicts one of the best known episodes of the story of Joseph. After being sold by his brothers to the Ishmaelites, Joseph was bought by Potiphar, the captain of the Pharaoh’s guard. Joseph’s merits led him to prosper in Potiphar’s service and the latter made him overseer of his household. He also caught the attention of Potiphar’s wife, who cast her eyes upon him: ‘And it came to pass that one day Joseph went into the house to do his tasks and there were none of the men of the house there within. And she caught him by his garment, saying: Lie with me. And he left his garment in her hand, and fled and escaped. When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and had fled, she called unto the men of her house and said: See, he has brought in a Hebrew to mock us. He came to lie with me and I shouted out; and when he heard me, he left his garment with me, and fled and escaped. And she put the garment of Joseph next to her, until his lord came home.’ This accusation led to Joseph falling into disgrace but also to his subsequent exaltation, as even though he ended up in gaol it was when he was a prisoner that he revealed his ability to interpret dreams, which gained him favour with the Pharaoh.

The painting shows Joseph fleeing from the bed where Potiphar’s wife is lying. One of her breasts is bare and she is trying fruitlessly to stop him by grasping his tunic, which she would later use to falsely accuse him.

This scene was frequently depicted in paintings. In Spain, for example, there are important works by Alonso Cano and by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. These works are generally included within larger series, andthis painting is no exception: it is part of a series of seven paintings by Antoni Viladomat, the most important Catalan painter of the first decades of the 18^th century. The series was bought by José Antonio de Cabanyes in Barcelona between 1824 and 1830, and it remained the property of his family in Vilanova i la Geltrú and in Bará until Julio Muñoz Ramonet purchased five of the paintings some time before 1954. One of the locations where the series was housed was the Guineus property in Bará. The  purchase of this property by the Banco de España explains the presence of this work in the Bank’s collection.

The researcher Miralpeix considered the paintings of this series as the best of the painter’s oeuvre, given that the variety of situations display Viladomat’s narrative abilities and his skill in linking different figures and seeking unity of action. As Miralpeix pointed out, the painter used etchings as models, including the series on the life of Joseph by Antonio Tempesta, although in the case of Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife he probably used more recent prints from compositions by Carlo Maratta or Abraham Bloemaert. In fact, Viladomat painted the scene in a way that was quite usual in such models: in landscape format (used for the whole series), and focusing attention on the contrast between Joseph’s gesture as he clearly flees from temptation and the anxiety of Potiphar’s wife. Many artists seized the opportunity to show a female nude or semi-nude in such scenes. In that regard, this it is a unique work in Viladomat’s oeuvre.

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife was overlooked in the recent bibliography of the artist, as its location was unknown. It was revealed thanks to a black and white photograph and the fact that there is a copy of the whole series, made by Viladomat’s immediate circle, in Peralada castle.

Javier Portús