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Gallery Text

In this work, Savery’s imaginary panoramic landscape becomes a backdrop to a biblical drama dominating the scene. Firmly gripping their swords and trampling over a mass of fallen soldiers, two horsemen are depicted zealously charging across a battlefield. They belong to the army of Israelites defending themselves from their relentless enemies—the nomadic tribe of Amalek— during the Exodus from Egypt. Although faint, the figure of Moses can be seen standing on top of the hill at upper right. He is accompanied by Aaron and Hur, who are holding up Moses’s weary arms to ensure the Israelites’ victory in the battle, as God had promised. Savery developed his watercolor technique under the influence of his teacher Hans Bol. The grand, exquisitely rendered tree, dominating the middle ground of the composition, recalls not only the work of Bol but also the landscapes of another of Savery’s Flemish precursors, Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2023.643
People
Jacob Savery I, Netherlandish (Courtrai, Flanders c. 1540 - 1603 Amsterdam)
Title
The Battle between the Israelites and the Hordes of Amalek
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
c. 1590
Culture
Netherlandish
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/358850

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Opaque watercolor and shell gold over traces of black chalk on paper mounted overall to wood panel; framing lines in shell gold and dark red opaque watercolor
Dimensions
13.4 × 19.5 cm (5 1/4 × 7 11/16 in.)
framed: 22.4 × 29 × 2.7 cm (8 13/16 × 11 7/16 × 1 1/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: lower right, gold: IS
  • inscription: lower left, gold: 15 - -

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Sotheby's, London, December 13, 1973, lot 88]. Sir John Ropner, baronet. [Sotheby's, New York, January 13, 1989, lot 54]; to A. Alfred Taubman; his sale [Sotheby's, New York, January 27, 2016, lot 23], bought in, sold; to George Abrams, Boston, gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2023

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
The Maida and George Abrams Collection, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Gift of George Abrams in memory of Richard Medalie, Harvard Law School '58
Accession Year
2023
Object Number
2023.643
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Important Dutch and Flemish Drawings, auct. cat., Sotheby's, London (London, December 13, 1973), lot 88, repr.
  • An Zwollo, "Jacob Savery, Nachfolger von Pieter Bruegel und Hans Bol", Pieter Bruegel und Seine Welt, Mann (Berlin, 1979), p. 204, pl. 2
  • Old Master Drawings, auct. cat., Sotheby's (New York, NY, January 13, 1989 - January 14, 1989), lot 54, repr.
  • Old Masters: The Collection of A. Alfred Taubman, volume 4, auct. cat., Sotheby's, New York (New York, January 27, 2016), lot 23, repr.

Exhibition History

Subjects and Contexts

  • Dutch, Flemish, & Netherlandish Drawings

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu