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Original fileLife of David Scenes
David met de kroon van de Ammonieten / Absaloms wraak / David omhelst Absalom / David met bedekt hoofd en barrevoets op de helling van de Olijfberg
About This Work
This sheet contains four numbered engravings showing various episodes from the Second Book of Samuel. The scenes depict moments of both triumph and domestic strife, including David being crowned with the crown of the Ammonites and later fleeing Jerusalem barefoot and in mourning during his son Absalom's rebellion. Each panel is accompanied by moralizing Latin verses that reflect on the consequences of power, intemperance, and family discord.
Aegidius Sadeler was the imperial engraver at the court of Rudolf II in Prague, a major center for late Renaissance esotericism and natural philosophy. While the subject is biblical, the moralizing focus on the 'turning wheel of fortune' and the ethical duties of a ruler aligns with the Neo-Stoic and political philosophies prevalent in the Rudolfine circle.
Inscriptions(Latin)
33 VERA GLORIAE AMPLIFICATIO. 2. Sam. 12. 30 Improbitatis opes, iniusta potentia, magno Et subito casu precipitiq ruunt. Hostibus extinctis surgit domus alta piorum, Atque nouis spolys, diuitysque nitet. 33. 34. INTEMPERANTIAE FRVCTVS. 2. Sam. 13. 28. Publica prospicere haud satis est, sed moribus atq Legibus est puris instituenda domus. Cui leue natoru fuerit scelus, ille videbit Exempla et sobolis funera dira sue. 34. 35 NIMIA LENITAS. 2. Sam. 14. 33. Virtuti coniuncta patru, exemplisq seueris Et iuuat et confert consilij grauitas. Quid non molitur male confirmata iuuentus, Tam faciles credit cum sibi habere patres. 35. 36 ERRATORVM EXPVRGATIO. 2. Sam. 15 et 16. Maxima ciuilis belli ac deterrima pestis Cum interna flagrat seditione domus. Non tamen est usus leuis hinc ut certus amicos Inter nosse queas, que tibi summa quies. 36.
Translation
33. THE TRUE AMPLIFICATION OF GLORY. 2 Sam. 12. 30 The wealth of wickedness, unjust power, falls With a great and sudden and headlong ruin. With enemies destroyed, the lofty house of the pious rises, And shines with new spoils and riches. 33. 34. THE FRUIT OF INTEMPERANCE. 2 Sam. 13. 28. It is not enough to look to public affairs, but a house must be Established with pure morals and laws. He who considers the crime of his children trivial will see Dire examples and the funeral of his own offspring. 34. 35. EXCESSIVE LENIENCY. 2 Sam. 14. 33. Joined with paternal virtue and severe examples, The gravity of counsel both helps and contributes. What does a poorly disciplined youth not attempt, When it believes it has such indulgent fathers. 35. 36. THE PURGING OF ERRORS. 2 Sam. 15 and 16. The greatest and worst plague of civil war is When a house burns with internal sedition. Yet this use is not light, so that you may be sure To know your friends among us, which is your greatest peace. 36.
Connected Texts
Aegidius Sadeler
As the Imperial Engraver to Rudolf II, Sadeler's works represent the high Mannerist style and moral-philosophical interests of the Prague court.
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Provenance & Source
Object
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
paper
height 107 mm x width 142 mm x height 109 mm x width 139 mm x height 107 mm x width 140 mm x height 108 mm x width 139 mm
religious
Linked Data
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