Eli Receiving the News of the Death of His Sons and the Capture of the Ark of the Covenant (?) thumbnail 1
Eli Receiving the News of the Death of His Sons and the Capture of the Ark of the Covenant (?) thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level H , Case DG, Shelf 23

Eli Receiving the News of the Death of His Sons and the Capture of the Ark of the Covenant (?)

Drawing
1656-60 (drawn)
Artist/Maker
Rembrandt Van Rijn (artist)
Place of origin
Amsterdam (drawn)

On the right, a bearded man in a tall hat sits, holding a staff, on stone steps near the entrance to a building; he turns to look over his right shoulder at a younger man with an open-armed gesture, coming up the steps.

Object details

Category
Drawings
Object type
Drawing
TitleEli Receiving the News of the Death of His Sons and the Capture of the Ark of the Covenant (?) (published title)
Materials and techniques
Reed pen and brown ink, with dry brown wash.
Paper
Pen
Sepia
Drawing (Image-Making)
Wash Technique
Brief description
Drawing, 'Eli Receiving the News of the Death of His Sons and the Capture of the Ark of the Covenant (?)', by Rembrandt van Rijn, Dutch School, c.1656-60
Physical description
On the right, a bearded man in a tall hat sits, holding a staff, on stone steps near the entrance to a building; he turns to look over his right shoulder at a younger man with an open-armed gesture, coming up the steps.
Dimensions
  • Height: 185mm
  • Width: 245 mm
Style
Dutch School
Production typeUnique
Marks and inscriptions
  • Inscribed at lower right, in brown ink (with the museum’s Dyce inv. no.), 429.
  • Inscribed on mount, at lower right below drawing, in a nineteenth-century hand, in pencil (with Dyce’s original inv. no.; now erased), 715 (?).
Gallery label
Rembrandt and his pupils made drawings like this to keep in the studio for inspiration. The thick, broken lines, angular figures and broad washes of ink are typical of Rembrandt’s late style. The subject of this drawing is unclear. It may be the Parable of the Prodigal Son or the Old Testament story of Eli hearing of the death of his sons.
Credit line
Bequeathed by Rev. Alexander Dyce
Object history
Rev. Alexander Dyce (1798–1869), London, by whom bequeathed to the museum (L. Suppl. 153b), 1869.
Subjects depicted
Men
Steps
Literary reference'The Prodigal Son' (also known as the Lost Son): A parable of Jesus that appears in the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Bible.
Bibliographic references
  • DYCE COLLECTION. A Catalogue of the Paintings, Miniatures, Drawings, Engravings, Rings and Miscellaneous Objects Bequeathed by The Reverend Alexander Dyce. London : South Kensington Museum, 1874.
  • Jane Shoaf Turner and Christopher White, Catalogue of Dutch and Flemish Drawings in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2014, vol. I, Cat. 162, illus. p.215.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
DYCE.429

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1043415/eli-receiving-the-news-of-drawing-rembrandt-van-rijn/
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