Isaac Blessing Jacob (detail)
by EECKHOUT, Gerbrand van den, Oil on canvas
The silver ewer in the painting stands for the riches that Jacob will inherit, and reproduces one of the first masterpieces of the auricular style in the Netherlands, Adam van Vianen’s covered ewer made in 1614 for the Amsterdam guild of silversmiths. This work captured the imagination of numerous painters, in part because its bizarre form allowed it to pass as an object from an ancient and foreign land. Examples of the numerous paintings in which it is incorporated include a kitchen scene by Adriaen van Nieulandt, and a large canvas by Govert Flinck.