Daniel before Nebuchadnezzar
Salomon Koninck (Amsterdam 1609 - Amsterdam 1656)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1630 - 1656
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
(65 x 65 in) 1650 x 1650 mm
Place of origin
Netherlands
Order this imageCollection
Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire
NT 108892
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Daniel before Nebuchadnezzar, by Salomon Koninck (Amsterdam 1609 – Amsterdam 1656), c. 1630-56. Nebuchadnezzar seated on throne raised on a stepped dais, centre left, he is turned three-quarters to right, looking down; dressed in cloak with jewelled embroidered edges fastened with jewelled clasp on chest, bearded with jewelled cap from which ascend two straight white plumes of feathers; Daniel, turned to left, profile, kneeling on left knee, at bottom of stairs, dressed in long yellow/gold robe with belt the index finger of his right hand pointing to the thumb on his left; various figures are clustered around the king and behind Daniel; architectural setting of niches some with statues, and large drapes over the throne. Formerly thought to be by Rembrandt, this picture is by one of his most able imitators, Salomon Koninck. Nebuchadezzar, the creater of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the most powerful ruler of his age, dreamt of a statue made of gold, silver, bronze and iron, but with feet of clay. Daniel interprets this as foretelling the end of his kingdom, hence expression 'feet of clay'. In position by circa 1787, replacing a ruin-piece by Griffier.
Provenance
In the Library at Kedleston since 1787; bought with part of the contents of Kedleston with the aid of the National Heritage Memorial Fund in 1987 when the house and park were given to the National Trust by Francis Curzon, 3rd Viscount Scarsdale (1924-2000).
Credit line
Kedleston Hall, The Scarsdale Collection (acquired with the help of the National Heritage Memorial Fund and transferred to The National Trust in 1987)
Marks and inscriptions
Verso: Label on stretcher of W. Freeman & Son Ltd, dated 3.2.65, and numbered: 95 [evidently from lining and restoration in 1965]
Makers and roles
Salomon Koninck (Amsterdam 1609 - Amsterdam 1656), artist previously catalogued as attributed to Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606 – Amsterdam 1669), artist previously catalogued as attributed to Gerbrand Jansz van den Eeckhout (Amsterdam 1621 - Amsterdam 1674), artist
Exhibition history
Rembrandt's Orient: West Meets East in Dutch Art of 17th Century, Museum Barberini, Potsdam, 2020 - 2021 Rembrandt's Orient: West Meets East in Dutch Art of 17th Century, Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland , 2020 - 2021
References
Bray 1778: William Bray, Sketch of a Tour into Derbyshire and Yorkshire, London 1778, p. 69-70 Waagen 1854-7: Gustav Waagen, Treasures of Art in Great Britain, 3 vols. (translated by Lady Eastlake) with a supplementary volume: Galleries and Cabinets of Art in Great Britain, London, 1854-7, p.391 Anon 1874 “The Private Collections of England. No.X – Kedleston Hall”, The Athenæum, 1 August 1874, no.2440, p.150, no.2440, p. 151 Sumowski 1983-1990 Werner Sumowski, Gemälde der Rembrandt-Schüler, Landau/Pfalz, 5 vols 1983-1990, III, 1983, no.1078 Brinkmann, Dette, Philipp, Westheider (eds.) 2020: Rembrandt's Orient, West Meets East in Dutch Art of the Seventeenth Century, exh. cat. Kunstmuseum Basel 2020-21, Museum Barberini, Potsdam 2021, p. 232, no. 69