Jacob's dream of the ladder to heaven

Jacob's Dream, painted around 1619, depicts the Old Testament patriarch's vision of a ladder ascending to heaven with angels ascending and descending upon it (Genesis 28:12). The subject held profound theological resonance in the Catholic tradition as a prefiguration of Christ as the bridge between heaven and earth. Fetti's treatment belongs to his series of small panel paintings on Old and New Testament subjects, produced for the Gonzaga court. The choice of a poplar panel and the small scale suggest this was intended for private devotional use. The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna holds a remarkable concentration of Fetti's work, much of it traceable to the original Gonzaga collection.

The composition divides dramatically between the horizontal sleeping figure of Jacob below and the diagonal ascent of the angelic ladder above. Fetti handles the supernatural luminosity of the heavenly realm with a cool, bright palette contrasting with the earthier tones of the sleeping figure. The poplar panel supports fine detail work in the angelic figures.