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Ahab Upon His Bed and Jezebel Comforting Him

attributed to (Dutch, 1537–1612)
after (Dutch, 1498–1574)
Dateca. 1561
MediumEngraving
DimensionsImage: 8 × 9 3/4 in. (20.3 × 24.8 cm)
Sheet: 9 3/4 × 11 3/8 in. (24.8 × 28.9 cm)
Credit LineCharles F. Olney Fund
PortfolioThe Story of Ahab, Jezebel, and Naboth
Object number1964.43A
Status
Not on view
More Information
The story of Ahab, Naboth, Jezebel, and Elijah from the Book of Kings serves as the textual basis for this action-packed print, engraved after designs by Maerten van Heemskerck. It traces the story of the crime and punishment of Queen Jezebel, who conspired to murder a man named Naboth after he refused to sell a plot of land to her husband, King Ahab. In response, Jezebel had Naboth falsely accused with the sin of cursing God and the King. Ahab then claimed Naboth's land, until the prophet Elijah warned him of God's anger at this. More than many artists of his time, excepting those who made illustrations for bibles, Maerten van Heemskerck turned time and again to the stories of the Old Testament as the subject matter for his drawings.
Exhibition History
Prints in Series: Aldegrever to Warhol
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (January 11, 1978 - February 12, 1978 )
The Renaissance in Oberlin: Graphics from the Permanent Collection
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (November 25, 1986 - December 31, 1986 )
Print Council Exhibition: Selections from the Prints and Drawings Collection at the Allen Memorial Art Museum
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (May 5, 1988 - June 5, 1988 )
Northern Renaissance Prints and Drawings
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (November 6, 1990 - January 27, 1991 )
Printing Practice: Religious Prints from the Renaissance
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (September 6, 2012 - December 23, 2012 )
Collections
  • European