David Receiving the News of Uriah’s Death, Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1650
pen and brown ink, with brown wash and opaque white, some areas deliberately rubbed with a finger or wet brush, h 195mm × w 293mm Catalogue entry
Rembrandt portrayed various events in the life of the Old Testament figure of King David. This drawing shows an episode that hardly ever appeared in art: the moment David hears of Uriah’s death in the battlefield. He had arranged that it would happen, after he had seduced Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, and she had conceived his child. God then sent the prophet Nathan (right) to admonish David.
