David and Jonathan is a painting by the Dutch painter Rembrandt, made in 1642, now in the collection of the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Painted on oak, [1] it is one of the works, together with the Hellenistic sculpture acquired in 1850, The Venus de Taurida , with which the Hermitage began their collection in 1882. [2]
The subject is taken from the First Book of Samuel (20: 35-42). David was a close friend of Jonathan, the son of King Saul. Saul suspected David of aspiring to the throne of Israel. Saul thus planned to kill David, but when Jonathan learned of his father's intention, he warned David of the danger. Jonathan advised him to run away, though David took shelter by the stone Ezel, where their last meeting took place. Jerusalem is portrayed gleaming in the left background, with a quiver of arrows at David's feet being interpreted as those weapons given David by Jonathan after the victory over Goliath (1 Samuel 18:1-4). [3]
Rembrandt portrays Jonathan holding David to his chest as the latter weeps uncontrollably: "And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul." (1 Samuel 20:17) The young David cannot contain his grief. Jonathan, more mature in years, keeps back the tears, although his face expresses deep sorrow. Themes of love and suffering lie at the heart of the biblical story captured in the painting. Rembrandt painted the picture soon after the death of his beloved wife Saskia, and perhaps its subject is associated with his own feelings. [4]
The Hermitage contains other works by Rembrandt such as Flora (1634), The Descent of the Cross (1634), The Sacrifice of Isaac (1635), The Holy Family with Angels (1645), and The Return of the Prodigal Son (1668-1669).
Nicolas Poussin was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for a small group of Italian and French collectors. He returned to Paris for a brief period to serve as First Painter to the King under Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu, but soon returned to Rome and resumed his more traditional themes. In his later years he gave growing prominence to the landscape in his paintings. His work is characterized by clarity, logic, and order, and favors line over color. Until the 20th century he remained a major inspiration for such classically-oriented artists as Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres and Paul Cézanne.
Willem Drost was a Dutch Golden Age painter and printmaker of history paintings and portraits.
Gerrit Dou, also known as GerardDouw or Dow, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, whose small, highly polished paintings are typical of the Leiden fijnschilders. He specialised in genre scenes and is noted for his trompe-l'œil "niche" paintings and candlelit night-scenes with strong chiaroscuro. He was a student of Rembrandt.
Adriaen van Ostade was a Dutch Golden Age painter of genre works, showing everyday life of ordinary men and women.
Gerard ter Borch, also known as Gerard Terburg, was a Dutch genre painter who lived in the Dutch Golden Age. He influenced fellow Dutch painters Gabriel Metsu, Gerrit Dou, Eglon van der Neer and Johannes Vermeer. According to Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., Ter Borch "established a new framework for subject matter, taking people into the sanctum of the home", showing the figures' uncertainties and expertly hinting at their inner lives. His influence as a painter, however, was later surpassed by Vermeer.
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of art and the most important in Dutch art history. It is estimated Rembrandt produced a total of about three hundred paintings, three hundred etchings and two thousand drawings.
Aert de Gelder was a Dutch painter. He was the only Dutch artist to paint in the tradition of Rembrandt's late style into the 18th century.
Danaë is a painting by the Dutch artist Rembrandt, first painted in 1636, but later extensively reworked by Rembrandt, probably in the 1640s, and perhaps before 1643. Once part of Pierre Crozat's collection, it has been in the Hermitage Museum, in St. Petersburg, Russia since the 18th century.
Jacob Adriaensz Backer was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He produced about 140 paintings in twenty years, including portraits, religious subjects, and mythological paintings. In his style, he was influenced by Wybrand de Geest, Rubens and Abraham Bloemaert. He is also noted for his drawings of male and female nudes.
Jan Victors or Fictor was a Dutch Golden Age painter mainly of history paintings of Biblical scenes, with some genre scenes. He may have been a pupil of Rembrandt. He probably died in the Dutch East Indies.
The Return of the Prodigal Son is an oil painting by Rembrandt, part of the collection of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. It is among the Dutch master's final works, likely completed within two years of his death in 1669. Depicting the moment of the prodigal son's return to his father in the Biblical parable, it is a renowned work described by art historian Kenneth Clark as "a picture which those who have seen the original in St. Petersburg may be forgiven for claiming as the greatest picture ever painted".
The Raising of Lazarus is an oil-on-panel painting by the Dutch artist Rembrandt from early in his career; it was probably painted between 1630 and 1632. The work depicts the Raising of Lazarus as told in the Gospel of John, Chapter 11. It is in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Self-portrait wearing a white feathered bonnet is an oil painting attributed to the Dutch painter Rembrandt. It is signed and dated 1635. It was traditionally regarded as a Rembrandt self-portrait until 1968, when it was rejected on stylistic grounds in the Rembrandt catalogue raisonné by Horst Gerson. In 2013, art historian Ernst van de Wetering re-attributed the painting as an original Rembrandt. It is one of over 40 painted self-portraits by Rembrandt.
A Polish Nobleman is a 1637 painting by Rembrandt depicting a man in a costume of Polish szlachta (nobility). The identity of the subject of the painting is unclear, and has given rise to several different interpretations. The view that the figure's dress is clearly Polish is not universally held and it may have been a self-portrait.
Descent from the Cross (1634), by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, is one of his many religious scenes. The piece is oil on canvas and now located in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. The piece is intriguing stylistically in its unique figural composition and variety of lighting effects. Aside from composition, the painting is notable in terms of its historical context, from the connection between its subject matter and Rembrandt's family situation to its endangered location during World War II.
Flora or Saskia as Flora is a 1634 oil-on-canvas painting by Rembrandt, depicting his wife Saskia van Uylenburgh as the goddess Flora. It is held by the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.
The pendant portraits of Marten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit are a pair of full-length wedding portraits by Rembrandt. They were painted on the occasion of the marriage of Marten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit in 1634. Formerly owned by the Rothschild family, they became jointly owned by the Louvre Museum and the Rijksmuseum in 2015 after both museums managed to contribute half of the purchase price of €160 million, a record for works by Rembrandt.
Oval Portrait of a Woman is a 1633 portrait painting painted by Rembrandt. It shows a woman with a millstone collar and diadem cap. It is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Bust of a Man Wearing a Gorget and Plumed Beret is an oil-on-panel painting by Rembrandt dating to ca. 1626–27. It measures 39.8 by 29.4 centimetres and is held in a private collection. It is believed to be the earliest extant single-figure painting by Rembrandt.
The Adoration of the Magi, is a circa 1645 oil on panel painting of the Nativity by the Dutch artist Salomon Koninck in the collection of the Mauritshuis in The Hague.