Jael Killing Sisera, Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1658 - c. 1659
pen and brown ink, with opaque white; framing lines in black ink over brown ink, h 192mm × w 174mm Catalogue entry
Jael offered the fleeing Captain Sisera shelter in her tent, and then drove a tent pin through his head while he slept. Already before Rembrandt’s time, this biblical story was depicted as a warning against ‘the wiles of women.’ Rembrandt was fascinated by what drives a woman to commit such a deed. He regularly portrayed narratives in which the conflict of seduction and betrayal of women is central.
