Stories of Joseph

These Stories of Joseph by Andrea del Sarto, held in the Uffizi Gallery, were painted around 1515-1516 as part of the celebrated Borgherini bedroom cycle depicting the Old Testament narrative of Joseph in Egypt. Commissioned by Pierfrancesco Borgherini for his bridal chamber, the cycle involved several leading Florentine painters including Pontormo, Granacci, and Bacchiacca. Del Sarto's contribution demonstrates his ability to compose complex narrative scenes with multiple episodes within a single picture field, a challenging format that required both compositional inventiveness and clear storytelling.

The multi-episode composition arranges successive narrative moments across a continuous landscape or architectural setting, following the medieval tradition of continuous narrative updated with Renaissance perspective and figure drawing. Del Sarto's warm palette and atmospheric sfumato unify the diverse episodes, while the carefully observed architectural settings demonstrate his mastery of perspective construction.