Nathan Before King DavidDavid, king of Israel, had committed egregious crimes. He had coveted the wife of his loyal servant Uriah the Hittite, taken her to his royal chambers, impregnated her and sent her beloved husband to his death. He had stopped at nothing to cover his tracks and to conceal his felonies. But even the high and mighty king could not escape the scrutiny of the Lord. 'The Lord was displeased with what David had done' and He hurled His word against him through Nathan the prophet:
In his two renditions of Nathan before King David, Rembrandt has captured two distinct moments of the tale. In the first drawing David attentively listens to the parable of the poor man's ewe, little knowing that he will be revealed as the guilty party. In the second, Nathan's facial expression indicates rebuke and David's reveals shock and horror upon realizing that Nathan is really speaking about him. The Poor Man's Ewe >> |
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