Four Biblical Scenes

Rembrandt van Rijn

1655

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Page of four pencil drawings: a half-naked man posing, an animal figure with wings underneath figure with halo, man and angels, and soldier fighting against smaller figure. — These four etchings were made by Rembrandt van Rijn for Menasseh Ben Israel’s book, *Piedra Gloriosa* (*Glorious Stone*), a messianic treatise. Clockwise from upper left, they illustrate the biblical stories of King Nebuchadnezzar’s first dream and its interpretation (Daniel 2); Daniel’s visions of four beasts (Daniel 7:1–28); David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17); and Jacob’s dream of a ladder (Genesis 28:10–19).

Credits

Rembrandt van Rijn, Four Illustrations to a Spanish Book, 1655. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.

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Creator Bio

Rembrandt von Rijn is considered one of the greatest artists of all time. Born in Leiden in the Netherlands as the son of a prosperous miller, he apprenticed with a local painter and an artist in Amsterdam as a teenager and eventually set up his own studio in Amsterdam. He pioneered a new way of using light and shadow. Rembrandt soon became the city’s most sought-after portrait artist, but despite his fame, he experienced financial difficulties and was forced to declare bankruptcy in 1656. Near the end of his life, he increasingly painted self-portraits. In addition to portraits, Rembrandt’s more than three hundred known paintings include historical and biblical scenes and landscapes.

Details

Public Access

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