David in Prayer
- Date
- 1652
- Material
- Etching and drypoint
- made in
- Amsterdam, Netherlands, Europe
- Classification
- Prints
- Collection
- Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- plate: 5 5/8 x 3 11/16 in. (14.3 x 9.3 cm)
sheet (irregular): 5 11/16 x 3 3/4 in. (14.4 x 9.5 cm) - Credit Line
- Gift of J. Lionberger Davis
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 82:1951
NOTES
The subject of this print by Rembrandt van Rijn looks deceptively simple: a man in his nightshirt kneels in prayer by his bed. The harp, however, identifies him as King David, the singer and writer of the Psalms. A large pillow at his knees and the unmade bed hint at specific penitential psalms in which David confesses his adultery with Bathsheba: "I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears" (Psalms 6:6).
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