Jacob receives the pharaoh and Giuseppe

myminifactory

The Accademia Nazionale di San Luca strives to elevate artistic expression and architectural innovation, recognizing and honoring the achievements of artists and scholars by inviting them into its esteemed ranks. One year prior to the Clementino Competition, Giovanni Battista Bernero arrived in Rome, granted a subsidy for improvement following his apprenticeship under the renowned French artist Claudio Francesco Beaumont. By securing this financial support, Bernero claimed second prize in the first sculpture class of the Clementino Competition, banned in 1766, and also took home the top honor at the School of Nude that same year. He remained in Rome until 1769, immersed in a circle of artists and scholars surrounding Cardinal Alessandro Albani, further refining his craft under Ignazio Collino's guidance. In 1770, Bernero returned to his native Piedmont, securing official positions at the Savoy court and the Royal Academy of Turin. The central figure of Joseph assumes a pivotal role in the composition, with Jacob, kneeling in an act of blessing, forming an oblique axis that intersects the vertical lines of the colonnade backdrop. The figures of Joseph's brothers and their families are arranged on the sloping floors of relief, while the clay itself exhibits a deeper stain due to its treatment with brass powder paint and oil, carefully applied by the artist.