.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Stylistically and technically, David at Prayer is an unusual print within Rembrandt’s oeuvre. Executed mainly with etching and only a few touches of drypoint on the blanket on the bed, there is not much variation in the strength and depth of the lines. Furthermore, much of the figure of David and other elements of the composition are rendered not with outlines, but with areas of light and shade. Instead of ‘describing’ the figure and his surroundings, Rembrandt relies strongly on hatching to suggest the volume and shape of things. It is an intriguing technique, which lends David in Prayer a very different feel from most of his prints, but it is only effective when the contrasts between light and darkness are strong and vivid.
The present impression achieves this perfectly: the lines are clear and sharp, yet richly saturated and gathered into areas of absolute blackness, while the highlights, presumably light flooding in from a window, are bright and luminous. The play of light and shade imbue this impression with a flickering, nervous energy which corresponds with the inner tension of the scene. The drypoint on the bedspread, which so quickly disappears, is printing strongly here and adds texture and softness to the cloth.
The print depicts King David, after secretly watching Bathsheba bathing and forcing her to commit adultery with him (2 Samuel 11:4-5), saying his prayer of repentance:
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me. (Psalm 51.1-3)
The luxurious bed against which David is kneeling in prayer – very similar to the type of furniture depicted in The French Bed (see lot 69) – is no doubt a reference to the carnal sin David has committed with Bathsheba, while the harp in the foreground serves as an attribute of David, for the viewer to recognise him and understand the scene. The harp itself refers to an earlier episode from the life of David:
And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight. And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him. (1 Samuel 16:22-23)
The story of David would have been very familiar to both a Jewish and a Christian audience, as he was understood to be the author of the psalms, and often cited and praised as a model for penitence.
The present impression achieves this perfectly: the lines are clear and sharp, yet richly saturated and gathered into areas of absolute blackness, while the highlights, presumably light flooding in from a window, are bright and luminous. The play of light and shade imbue this impression with a flickering, nervous energy which corresponds with the inner tension of the scene. The drypoint on the bedspread, which so quickly disappears, is printing strongly here and adds texture and softness to the cloth.
The print depicts King David, after secretly watching Bathsheba bathing and forcing her to commit adultery with him (2 Samuel 11:4-5), saying his prayer of repentance:
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me. (Psalm 51.1-3)
The luxurious bed against which David is kneeling in prayer – very similar to the type of furniture depicted in The French Bed (see lot 69) – is no doubt a reference to the carnal sin David has committed with Bathsheba, while the harp in the foreground serves as an attribute of David, for the viewer to recognise him and understand the scene. The harp itself refers to an earlier episode from the life of David:
And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight. And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him. (1 Samuel 16:22-23)
The story of David would have been very familiar to both a Jewish and a Christian audience, as he was understood to be the author of the psalms, and often cited and praised as a model for penitence.