Belshazzar's Feast (Rembrandt)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
| Belshazzar's Feast |
| Rembrandt, 1635 |
| Oil on canvas |
| 167.6 × 209.2 cm |
| National Gallery, London |
Belshazzar's Feast is a painting by Rembrandt painted in about 1635. The source for this painting is the story of Belshazzar, in the Old Testament Book of Daniel (Daniel 5).
Contents |
[edit] Narrative behind the Artwork
According to the Holy Bible, King Belshazzar of Babylon held a great feast for one thousand of his lords, ladies and barons. At the feast according to Daniel, chapter 5, verse-4 “They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, of silver, of brass, of iron and of wood.”
Belshazzar and his guest committed blasphemy by drinking out sacred vessels and praising gods other than the lord. Then, out of nowhere, a man’s hand appeared and started to write with what seemed like light. The characters were in Hebrew, a language unfamiliar to the King of Babylon so he called forth his astrologers, the Chal-de’-ans and soothsayers.
He proclaimed to them, as stated in verse-7 “Whoever shall read this writing and shrew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have of gold around his neck, and shall be the third ruler of the kingdom”. Many wise men tried to decipher the mysterious writing on the wall but without success. The king became frustrated that the meaning of the writing couldn’t be seen but then the Queen suggested he employ the assisted of a man named Daniel.
According to the Queen, Daniel was in possession of the Holy Spirit and had the knowledge through the Almighty God to interpret the writing. Daniel was brought before the king and told him what the words meant. The translation of the writing, which is accurate in Rembrandt’s work “Belshazzar’s Feast”, is ME’-NE, TE’-KEL, U-PHAR’-SIN. In English it means: God has numbered the days of your kingdom and will finish it. After it has been destroyed it is to be divided and given to the Persians and the Medes. As promised by the King, Daniel was clothed with scarlet, was given gold and became the third ruler of the Kingdom of Babylon. Later that night the King Belshazzar of Babylon was slain and, as true to the writing on the wall, his kingdom was divided.
[edit] Artistic Evaluation - Conceptual Framework
[edit] World
The Netherlands prior to the end of the eighty year war was part of the Roman Empire and thus was Roman Catholic. However, Judaism was becoming increasingly popular with Amsterdam having a Jewish quarter of it’s own in which Rembrandt lived. The story of “Belshazzar’s Feast” from the holy bible would have been an anecdote in which the art world and the general public would have been familiar with. Christian religions were a major influence on the ideologies and philosophies of the time.
In the early 17th century new modern theories by scientists and philosophers such as Galileo and Copernicus sought questioning and even changes in belief systems all across Western Europe.
Rembrandt chose to paint in the Baroque style which was along with Renaissance, Mannerism and Assicism a popular art style at the turn of the 17th century. Rembrandt was a popular painter during his time and he was able to sell his works to make a living.
In 17th century society, artists such as Rembrandt would have been in the middle class of people and regarded with some respect as a professional. This power/class structure had an effect on the success of Rembrandt as a painter.
[edit] Artist
Rembrandt Harmenszoon Van Rijn was a Dutch painter living in the Jewish quarter of the city and so from this demographic gained a wide and in depth understanding of the bible and biblical stories. This knowledge of religious text lead him to create not only “Belshazzar’s Feast” (1635), but also “Return of the Prodigal Son” (1638) and “Christ with the Sick around Him” (1649).
Although in 17th century Netherlands religious artwork was banned this didn’t stop Rembrandt from creating scripture based works. Rembrandt as a spiritualist was influenced by the Protestant Reform Movement but Rembrandt as a painter was influenced by Jacques Callot a Mannerist and engraver (1592-1635), Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco a renaissances painter (1477-1510), Gerrit Van Honthorst a baroque painter (1592-1656) and Hercules Pieterszoon Seghers a Dutch landscape painter and print maker (1589-1638). Rembrandt’s intention when creating “Belshazzar’s Feast” was to convey the morals of religious scripture in a visual form so it could be easily understood by the general public which was at the time largely illiterate.
Rembrandt was part of the Venetian school of painting which was a creative group who shared the same aims and ideas. Rembrandt didn’t only make an impression in his own time but he has influenced artists into more modern times. Well known artists such as Thomas Eakins a realist painter (1844-1914), Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) and Adriaen Van Ostade an engraver and painter (1610-1685).
[edit] Artwork
“Belshazzar’s Feast” by Rembrandt wasn’t commissioned by the Roman Catholic Church but it was created to satisfy his own inner spiritual needs. The form of the art work is a two dimensional painting. The figures in “Belshazzar’s Feast” are not photogenic but they are shown realistically. The people have wrinkles and other blemishes which show that Rembrandt didn’t paint perfection. He liked the audience to see the eyes of the figures to reinforce the mood of the painting. This is apparent if the audience looks closely in “Belshazzar’s Feast” at the central figure of the King of Babylon and the queen sitting next to him. They have a look of surprise and the detail around the eyes reinforces this notion.
The mood of the painting is alarm and surprise. This is shown through Rembrandt’s distinctive manipulation of light and shadow by means of altering the texture, potency, direction of stroke subtly achieve the desired mood. This is called Chiaroscuro. Light and shadows play a significant role in developing the mood of “Belshazzar’s Feast” especially around the hand that writes on the wall and the reflection of King Belshazzar’s royal cloak. The shadows are used to hide the unnecessary or distracting details and light is used to illuminate the faces of the figures.
The work depicts the King Belshazzar of Babylon at a feast he held with a thousand lords and ladies. A hand is near ancient Hebrew script which appears to be floating. The figures in the picture are surprised and shocked because of the mystical appearance of the hand and writing.
[edit] Audience
One can imagine that this work was created with the intention that it would be on display in a public gallery where people could view the work and gain an understanding of the message that it is trying to convey. The audience plays a major role in the creation of an artwork because Rembrandt created this work for the purpose of showing an audience.
[edit] The Frames
The frames are another way to analyse an artwork, similar to the conceptual frame, but using the agencies of structural, subjective, postmodern and cultural frames.
[edit] Structural Frame
The materials used for “Belshazzar’s Feast” were oil on canvas and this allowed Rembrandt to manipulate the paint to create defined shadows, light, atmosphere, motion and mood. Signs and symbols are used to subtly convey the morals and biblical message across to the audience. The hand that is writing the message on the wall is male. This clearly represents the Almighty God. The vessel that has been tipped over is a Holy Communion cup which represents the blasphemy that took place at the feast. The gold which is reflecting off the royal cloak that the king is wearing epitomizes the wealth of the Kingdom of Babylon.
The composition of this artwork shows evidence of planned organisation. This is apparent in the placement of the figures and the use of light so that the eye of the audience is drawn towards the writing on the wall then the central figure of King Belshazzar. The light illuminating from the writing on the wall seems to reflect off the eyes of the figures, the king’s cloak and the vessels. Observers in the painting are shown in varying degrees and facing different direction yet looking at the same point in the top right hand corner. Rembrandt emphasized the dramatic posture of King Belshazzar.
The aesthetic principals are a significant component of this art work. The texture on the faces of the figures is used to make the scene more realistic. Warm vibrant colours and the use of diaphanous light are also used to create a life like effect. These aesthetic principals distinguish Rembrandt art work
[edit] Cultural Frame
The society in which “Belshazzar’s Feast” was created was the Netherlands during a time of modernisation. The Eighty Year War in Europe was coming to an end and philosophers and scientists all around the world were theorising and had new ideas. Galileo proposed the heliocentric model of the universe which challenged the beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church. The society when the work was created can influence and in the case of “Belshazzar’s Feast” has influenced the subject matter and the style.
The signs and symbols used by the artist are specific religious middle and upper class Netherlands and other parts of Western Europe. All the symbols used reflect biblical scripture and are therefore specific to the Christian religions. The work unlike many other Rembrandt paintings is not set is the present but rather an insight into the past.
Rembrandt, although not Jewish, based this work on the Jewish version of the Holy Bible. The events of the Old Testament rather than irrefutable fact were the ultimate basis for this work.
[edit] Subjective Frame
Rembrandt had a passion for creating works that show a biblical story in a simplified manner. It is because of Rembrandt stalwart feelings towards religion that lead him to create a work such as “Belshazzar’s Feast”. Rembrandt believed because of the changing contemporary society where new ideas and theories from scientists and philosophers which were questioning traditional religion. So he created this work to promote biblical scripture. If Rembrandt didn’t have this ardour for the Jewish bible “Belshazzar’s Feast” wouldn’t have turned out so elaborate.
The emotional response of the audience is shock and awe. The image is powerful and triggers emotions within the audience. The work was a success because of artistic merit rather than any political stir it may have had within the art community.
When viewing the work the audience are transposed through physical, psychological and spiritual experiences. Physical experience is difficult to judge because the work is not grotesque and if there is any physical reaction when view the painting it might be a cold shiver because of the sheer awe of the work. The psychological experience is that the work intends to attract the audience so they can absorb the message of the art work. The spiritual experience is the main experience that the artist is trying to get the audience to feel. The message is conveyed across to the audience with emphasis of the spiritual experience.
MJL,KHS-2008
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Description of the painting on the National Gallery website.
- 2007 Influences on Goya and Rembrandt (Online) [1]
- 2007 Rembrandt [Online] [2]
- Janson, J. 2006 Rembrandt- Life, Paintings, Etching, Drawings and Self Portraits [Online] [3]
- Mannering, D. 1989 the Art of Rembrandt (Book). Published by Optimum Books London.
- Mühlberger, R. 1993 What Makes a Rembrandt a Rembrandt? (Book). Published by Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
- Poore, H. 1967 Composition in Art (Book). Published by Sterling Publishing Co. INC, New York
- Rembrandt- A Genius and his Impact (Book). Published and Written by the National Gallery of Australia.
- Wallace, R. 1976 the World of Rembrandt (Book). Published by Time Life Library of Art, Netherlands
 |
This painting-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
