Jacob and Esau - Flemish Master of the17th century

"Jacob and Esau"
Oil on canvas
Flemish Master
17th century
Canvas 158 x 96
Cadre 170 x 108

This large 17th century canvas describes in a highly scenic way the biblical episode of the reconciliation between the two prophet brothers Jacob and Esau.
The meeting puts an end to all the terrible controversies experienced by the protagonists together with their parents Isaac and Rebecca, the father attached to his favorite Esau and the mother complicit in Jacob's deceptions.
Isaac, son of Abraham and Sarah, marries Rebecca who, thanks to God's intervention, finally receives the grace of having two Twin children. The family history is somewhat convoluted and full of meanings and lends itself to different interpretations.
The work depicts the moment of the joyful meeting that establishes peace between the two Brothers.
The scene is full of characters with the two distinct groups following the protagonists who embrace each other emotionally.
We note the sumptuous clothes of Jacob who has become rich, with the pages who lift his long ermine fur coat, his servants with white horses and the soldiers with his insignia, unlike his brother who lives by hunting and cultivating the countryside of father.
The large size of the canvas allows the author to create a complex and wide-ranging composition that offers the viewer a broad, pleasant and very attractive vision.
All the pictorial characteristics are typical of 17th century Flemish art, with fast, thick and colour-filled brushstrokes of great effectiveness.
The pictorial layer, characterized by an evident craquelure, is compact and without any sagging. perfectly fixed on the entire canvas with a professional lining.
The golden frame is recently produced.