The Tree of Jesse

Domenico Beccafumi

Summary

A reproduction produced by the Vasari Society of a drawing by Domenico Beccafumi. It shows an illustration of the Biblical idea of 'The Tree of Jesse' with a tree growing up from the lap of a man seated on the ground, on each branch of which is another Biblical character. The man on the ground - Jesse - is sitting facing towards the right, and looking upwards at the tree. At the top of the central branch is the Virgin Mary with the child of Christ, and there are twelve more figures (only drawn from the hips upwards) arranges around the tree. In the background of this scene is a hilly landscape with trees and buildings. Text from the accompanying booklet produced by the Vasari Society: "No. 20 DOMENICO BECCAFUMI (b. 1486; d. 1551) THE TREE OF JESSE Collection of Sir Archibald Campbell, Bart., of Garscube. Pen and bistre, with bistre wash. 40.2 x 31.5 cm. (15 7/8 x 12 3/8 in.) The scheme is remarkable only in giving Jesse the regal attributes of crown and sceptre, a mistake also made by other artists (see J. Corblet, on this subject, in the Rev. de l'Art chrétien, IV, 1860, p. 54). The stem, as in the Dorchester window, springs from the loins of Jesse. The only ancestors represented are the twelve kings of Judah, who take precedence as a rule of other and later ancestors; they are not distinguished from each other, all having the same attributes of crown and sceptre. Original drawings by Beccafumi are somewhat rare, and this is a characteristic and interesting example."