Jacob's Dream by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
This is one of the two outer scenes on the ceiling of the Gallery.
The fresco illustrates Jacob's dream of the ladder to heaven. The artist has moved the ladder, seen ascending into the divine light, from the centre of the picture slightly towards the left. The sleeping Jacob sees in his dream the vision of a divine prophecy, in which he is promised numerous descendants and safe arrival in the land of Canaan under the protection of God himself In form and content, Jacob represents the antithesis of Hagar and Ishmael (shown on the other outer scene), since his line leads directly to Christ. This is reflected compositionally in the way the figure of Jacob is aligned towards the central fresco, The Sacrifice of Isaac.
Details
- Artist
- Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
- Created
- 1726 - 1729
- Medium
- fresco
- Passage
- Genesis 28:10-22
- Housed at
- Palazzo Patriarcale Piazza del Patriarcato, Udine
Found in: Genesis, Genesis 28, 18th century, Jacob, Palazzo Patriarcale, Udine
Genesis 28:10-22
10 Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.
11 He came to a certain place, and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. He took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep.
12 He dreamed. Behold, a stairway set upon the earth, and its top reached to heaven. Behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
13 Behold, Yahweh stood above it, and said, “I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land whereon you lie, to you will I give it, and to your offspring.
14 Your offspring will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. In you and in your offspring will all the families of the earth be blessed.
15 Behold, I am with you, and will keep you, wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken of to you.”
16 Jacob awakened out of his sleep, and he said, “Surely Yahweh is in this place, and I didn’t know it.”
17 He was afraid, and said, “How dreadful is this place! This is none other than God’s house, and this is the gate of heaven.”
18 Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on its top.
19 He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first.
20 Jacob vowed a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on,
21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, and Yahweh will be my God,
22 then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will be God’s house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give a tenth to you.”
Genesis 28:10-22 · World English Bible
The artist
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
1696 - 1770
Venice, Italy
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (March 5, 1696 – March 27, 1770), also known as Gianbattista or Giambattista Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the "Rococo" style. He was prolific, and worked not only in Italy, but also in Germany and Spain.