Harvard Art Museums > 2023.643: The Battle between the Israelites and the Hordes of Amalek Drawings Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"The Battle between the Israelites and the Hordes of Amalek (Jacob Savery I) , 2023.643,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 25, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/358850. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. 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 The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. 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 The Art of Drawing in the Early Dutch Golden Age, 1590–1630: Selected Works from the Abrams Collection, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/09/2017 - 01/14/2018 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
