A curly-haired young man in a short tunic plays standing.
Bible in art · 1 Samuel
David Playing the Harp before Saul
Lucas van Leyden · c. 1508
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Lucas van Leyden engraved this print in Leiden around 1508, when he was still very young. Prints like it were sold across Europe and made his name; his monogram “L” is at the bottom.
Young David stands at the left and plays a tall harp. Saul slumps on a carved throne, heavy and brooding, a long spear across his knees with its point toward the boy. Two courtiers whisper behind him, and soldiers with pikes wait in the back.
From the text
- Saul “sitting in his house with his spear in his hand” while David played the harp (1 Samuel 19:9)
- Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear (1 Samuel 19:10)
- David played, and the spirit of distress left Saul (1 Samuel 16:23)
The artist’s own
- Clothes of Lucas’s time: David’s short tunic, boots and pouch, Saul’s turban and fur-lined robe
- A Gothic room with statues in niches
- Courtiers and soldiers watching
Details
David
The harp
A tall harp, plucked with both hands.
Saul
Bearded, in a turban with a crown band, he stares as he listens.
The spear
Its point is turned toward David.
Courtiers
Two men lean together and talk behind the king.
Soldiers
Armed men with pikes stand at the back.
Lucas van Leyden, Netherlandish, c. 1489/94–1533. National Gallery of Art, Washington (Rosenwald Collection, 1943.3.5608) · Engraving · NGA Open Access: "Images of these works are available free of charge for any use, commercial or non-commercial, under Creative Commons Zero (CC0)." (NGA open data: published_images.csv openaccess = 1)