Jael Killing Sisera by Rembrandt van Rijn

Jael Killing Sisera c. 1658 - 1659

toned paper

light pencil work

pen sketch

pencil sketch

personal sketchbook

ink drawing experimentation

pen-ink sketch

sketchbook drawing

watercolour illustration

sketchbook art

This pen and ink drawing by Rembrandt van Rijn, titled "Jael Killing Sisera," depicts a scene from the biblical Book of Judges. The drawing, created in the 1650s, features the dramatic moment when Jael, a woman from the tribe of Kenite, kills Sisera, the leader of the Canaanite army, by driving a tent peg into his head. Rembrandt's masterful use of hatching and cross-hatching gives the drawing a sense of dynamism and tension, effectively capturing the violence of the scene. The composition is also notable, focusing on the figures of Jael and Sisera, emphasizing the brutal act of killing. "Jael Killing Sisera" is currently housed in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Comments

rijksmuseum over 1 year ago

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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.