Absalom Orders the Murder of Amnon at a Feast in His Palace c. 1760s

Vitus Felix Rigl made this drawing of Absalom ordering the murder of Amnon in pen and brown ink with gray wash around 1770, likely in Austria. Courtly intrigue and violence unfold within a lavishly decorated palace, revealing much about the social and political values of Rigl's time. The story itself, drawn from the Hebrew Bible, speaks to themes of revenge and justice. Yet, the setting transforms it into a commentary on the nature of power and authority within eighteenth-century aristocratic societies. The rigid formality of the architectural space contrasts sharply with the chaos of the murderous scene, perhaps suggesting a critique of the period’s social order. To fully understand Rigl’s work, we might turn to period literature and political theory. These resources can reveal contemporary attitudes toward governance, morality, and the role of the aristocracy, thereby enriching our understanding of the drawing’s engagement with the social structures of its time.