Joseph and Potiphar's wife

Italian painter Tintoretto painted this sensuous biblical scene around 1555 as part of a decorative cycle for a Venetian patron. Potiphar's wife, nude except for her jewelry, grasps at the fleeing Joseph. Her body stretches across the horizontal canvas in a sinuous curve, while Joseph recoils toward the door. The erotic tension is palpable despite the moral lesson.

Diego Velázquez purchased this painting for King Philip IV during his second trip to Venice, recognizing its quality. The unusually long format suggests ceiling decoration. Now at the Museo del Prado, it hangs with five companion paintings showing other Old Testament subjects, united by their shared color scheme and undulating rhythms.