Belshazzar's Feast (Rembrandt)

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Belshazzar's Feast
Oil on canvas
Dimensions167.6 cm × 209.2 cm (66.0 in × 82.4 in)
LocationNational Gallery, London

Belshazzar's Feast is a major painting by Rembrandt now in the National Gallery, London.[1] The painting is Rembrandt's attempt to establish himself as a painter of large, baroque history paintings.[2][3] The date of the painting is unknown, but most sources give a date between 1635 and 1638.[4][1]

The story

The story of

Nebuchadnezzar looted the Temple in Jerusalem and stole sacred artefacts such as golden cups.[5] His son Belshazzar used these cups for a great feast where the hand of God appeared and wrote the inscription on the wall prophesying the downfall of Belshazzar's reign.[5] The text on the wall says "mene, mene, tekel, u-farsin". Biblical scholars interpret this to mean "God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; your kingdom is given to the Medes and Persians".[1]

The inscription on the wall is an interesting element in this painting. Rembrandt lived in the Jewish Quarter of Amsterdam and "derived the form of

Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Sanhedrin
, 22a, among various dissenting views.

Reception

The painting was in possession of the Earl of Derby at Knowsley Hall since 1736. The picture, however, was barely known beyond England, and it was not considered a masterpiece.[11] As it was exhibited at the Art Treasures Exhibition in Manchester in 1857, the curator George Scharf wrote: "The whole picture, notwithstanding the boldness of the attitudes, is tame, and inadequate in execution."[12] This lack of admiration can be explained in comparison to contemporary depictions of the biblical story, especially Belshazzar's Feast by John Martin (c. 1821), that earned much more reputation by its size and grandeur of its composition. This assessment changed in the second half of the 20th century together with the revaluation of Rembrandt's historical paintings. After Belshazzar's Feast was acquired by the National Gallery in 1964, it became very popular and was used many times as an illustration for commercial products like album covers. In 2014, it was the third most licensed image of the National Gallery.[11]

Painting materials

Rembrandt's handling of painting materials and his painting technique in Belshazzar's Feast are both exceptional and do not compare to any of his other works.

ochres and azurite.[14]

See also

Notes

  1. ^
    The National Gallery
    .
  2. ^ a b "The description of the painting on The National Gallery website". Nationalgallery.org.uk. Archived from the original on 7 May 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  3. ^ "painting fear". The National Gallery. Archived from the original on 7 May 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  4. ISBN 9789400908116
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-1-85709-356-8
    .
  6. doi:10.1163/187501793X00036. Specifically, the final character (at the bottom of the leftmost row) is shown as a ז‎ (zayin) instead of a final ן‎ (nun
    ).
  7. doi:10.1163/187501763X00101
    .
  8. Bible Gateway
    . Bible Gateway. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  9. ISBN 9781439103555
    .
  10. ^ Colvin, Matt (29 May 2010). "Rembrandt's Belshazzar's Feast". Colvinism. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  11. ^
    ISBN 978-3-7319-0153-2
    , pp. 61–81.
  12. ^ Scharf, George (1857). A Handbook to the Paintings by Ancient Masters in the Art Treasures Exhibition. London. p. 61.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  13. ISBN 978-1-85709-356-8
    .
  14. ^ "Rembrandt, Belshazzar's Feast, Pigment analysis". Colourlex. Retrieved 6 April 2015.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Feast of Belshazzar (Rembrandt).
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