Cleveland Museum of Art

Plate 2: Levi

Date

c. 1589

Medium

engraving

Culture

Netherlands

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

In this print, the biblical figure Levi holds a sword next to a bishop’s mitre, denoting his tribe’s association with the priesthood. This is one of a series of prints depicting the twelve sons of Jacob, each with an attribute and costume that denotes his character. According to the Old Testament, Jacob blessed each of his twelve sons, prophesizing the destiny of their tribe, and assigning them a parcel of land in Canaan (present-day Israel). The print series was made in the Netherlands in the late 16th century, a time of political struggle when Old Testament heroes were popular exemplars of fortitude and patience. The columnar architecture behind this Old Testament figure suggests the future of his tribe as members of the priesthood.

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