Carlo Pellicani, after Carlo Buzzi
Jacob's Ladder

1807-13
Marble
West façade, Milan Cathedral

This panel pictures Genesis 28:10-15, Jacob's dream of angels going up and down a ladder to Heaven. As in the text, his head rests on a stone. The message that he hears from God, "the land, wherein thou sleepest, I will give to thee and to thy seed," is signified by the streams of light reaching from the cloud.

The palm tree is not mentioned in the text, but it does suggest the general area of the places that are named.

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Photographed at the cathedral by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.