According to Daniel 5:1-31, King Belshazzar of Babylon takes sacred golden and silver vessels from the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem by his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar. Using these holy items, the King and his court praise 'the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone'. Immediately, the disembodied fingers of a human hand appear and write on the wall of the royal palace the words "MENE", "MENE", "TEKEL", "UPHARSIN"
date QS:P,+1736-00-00T00:00:00Z/7,P1326,+1736-00-00T00:00:00Z/9
: Edward Stanley, 11th Earl of Derby (1689-1776), Knowsley Hall, Knowsley
by 1964
date QS:P,+1964-00-00T00:00:00Z/7,P1326,+1964-00-00T00:00:00Z/9
: Edward John Stanley, 18th Earl of Derby (1919-1994), Knowsley Hall, Knowsley
1964: purchased by National Gallery, London
Exhibition history
Rembrandt. Sextiosex bilder från utställningen i Nationaluseum, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 12 January 1956–15 April 1956, cat. no. 15. Art in the making: Rembrandt, 12 October 1988–17 January 1989, National Gallery, London, Cat.no. 7. Rembrandt, The master and his workshop, Altes Museum, Berlin, 12 September 1991–10 November 1991, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 4 December 1991–1 March 1992, National Gallery, London, 26 March 1992–24 May 1992, Cat.no. 22. Rembrandt-Caravaggio, 24 February 2006–18 June 2006, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Cat.no. 37.
Rembrandt, Pintor de historias, 15 October 2008–6 January 2009, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Cat.no. 23.
Credit line
Purchased by the National Gallery with support of The Art Fund
Inscriptions
Traces of signature and date:
Rembrand [.] / 163[.]
top right:
מנה / מנה / תקל / ופר / סין
In Latin script "Mene / Mene / Tekel / Uphar / sin". Written from top to bottom, in rows from right to left.
References
National Gallery Online Catalog, as Belshazzar's Feast, circa 1636-1638, height: 167.6 cm (65.9 in); width: 209.2 cm (82.3 in)
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Licensing
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Captions
Rembrandt's depiction of the biblical account of King Belshazzar seeing a hand writing the words "mene, mene, tekel, upharsin" on a wall.
Het feestmaal van Belsazar door Rembrandt (ca. 1636-1638)
El festín de Baltasar de Rembrandt, hacia 1635-1638