# David and Uriah [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [REMBRANDT Harmenszoon van Rijn]() - Date: 1601-1650 - Technique: Oil on canvas, 127 x 117 cm ## Commentary <a href="\#" onClick="w=window.open \('/database/glossary/note03.html', 'newWin', 'scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=300,height=400'\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return false">Catalogue number:</a> Bredius 531. Biblical subject. King David captivated by Uriah's wife sends him to the war. In a letter to his chieftain, which he handed to him, he orders Uriah to be sent to the most dangerous place in the battle. According to another interpretation the painting represents Haman Recognizes His Fate. Rembrandt's biblical canvases show a search for ways to present the time of the action through the means of painting. From wild Baroque gesticulation he gradually moves to focus on the main elements: composition, lighting, and colour. The bloody crimson cloak, the flashes of light on the protagonist's face and hands. and his forward inclination enable us to sense the approach of his life's dramatic end. Whoever he is, he is directed by divine providence that is indifferent to the fate of the individual yet elevates him as a particle of the Deity. ## Related artworks - [A black drummer and commander mounted on mules; riding in profile]() - [A child being taught to walk]() - [A cottage beneath trees]() - [A girl sleeping]() - [A Man Laughing]() - [A man making water]() - [A Peddler Selling Spectacles \(The Allegory of Sight\)]() - [A Polish Nobleman]() - [A Scholar]() - [A two-humped camel]() - [A woman in Zeeland costume, from the back]() - [A woman in Zeeland costume, from the front]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()