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DOI Artikel:Kobayashi-Sato, Yoriko: Hendrick Ter Brugghen's "King David Harping surrounded by four Angels"
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18904#0008
In this article the author discusses one of his later works, King David Harping Surrounded
by Fout Angełs (Fig. 1, hereafter referred to as David). The first monograph of 1958 by Nicolson7,
the description of works in the catalogue of the 1965-66 exhibition in Dayton and Baltimore8,
and that of the 1981 exhibition entitled God en Goden at the Rijksmuseum9, Amsterdam, make-
relatively lengthy remarks on this painting. These remarks suggest works that may have pro-
vided inspiration for Ter Brugghen, but they are unfortunately somewhat lacking in persuasi-
veness. Therefore I intend here to supplement some of their inadequencies by offering some
remarks on the compositional source of David and on the artistic relationship between Ter
Brugghen and Rubens, and advance a hypothesis about the commission. These remarks will
contribute to clarifying his later activities.
David is a painting on canvas measuring 150 by 190 cm. It was purchased in 1938 by the
Muzeum Narodowe in Warsaw from the B. Gutnajer Collection. Its history previous to that
time is unknown. Records made at the time of the purchase state that it was signed and dated
1628 at the lower left. At present, however, the signature is indistinguishable. A horizontaf
strip of canvas of approximately 10 centimeters in width has been added at the top, and two
pieces of canvas have been sewn together side-by-side at the center to compose the main portion
of the painting. Three other versions of this David are known to exist, i.e., one at the Wadsworth
Atheneum in Hartford, one at Kunsthalle in Kici, and one at the Stadelsches Institut in Frank-
furt. Of these, the Hartford version is generally agreed to be a replica made by Ter Brugghen
after his own original. When compared with the Hartford version, the David in Warsaw appears
to have been cut at the left. The Hartford version also lacks the added 10 centimeters of canvas
at the top, so that it is belived to reflect the original composition10.
Wearing the crown on his head, David sits at the center and plays a harp placed on his knees.
He is gray-haired and bearded, and he holds his face, which shows the ravages of age, turned
slightly upwards towards the viewer. This type of head, as well as the head of the angel behind
David, is used in his depiction of St.Peter and the angel in The Liberation of St.Peter (Mauritshuis,
The Hague, Fig. 2) in 1624. The positioning and the posturę of each figurę are also remarkably
similar in the two paintings. This fact leads us to assume the existence of a model-drawing
readily available in Ter Brugghen's atelier11. The red robę David wears is richly embroidered
in gold after the pattern of the priestly mantle of David van Burgundy, Bishop of Utrecht
from 1456 to 1496. This liturgical garb which is also used in The Crowning of Christ (1620, Natio-
nal Museum, Copenhagen), The St. Sebastian and two other paintings by Ter Brugghen (1625,
Allen Memoriał Museum, Obelin, Ohio, Fig. 3) and David Harping by Honthorst (1622, Centraal
Museum, Utrecht), is still preserved in the Rijksmuseum Catharijnaconvent in Utrecht12. Around
David's legs and below his sleeve a part of a white undergarment can be seen. A carving of a lion
adorns the throne, the back of which is visible below his robe. In front of this carving a thick,
worn-looking manuscript lies closed, while a table covered with a tapestry is placed in front of
David, with its corner pointing outwards towards the viewer. Obyiously, this is an interior
7. B. Nicolson, Hendrick Terbrugghen, op. cif., A 77.
8. Hendrick Terbrugghen in America, The Art Institute, Dayton, The Museum of Art, Baltimore, 1965/66, p. 42.
9. God en Goden, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1981, p. 106.
10. Hendrick Terbrugghen in America, op. cii., p. 42.
11. Regarding the existence of drawings which were repeatedly used by Ter Brugghen or by his pupile in his atelier as modela
for various works, see Hendrick Terbrugghen in America, ap cii. p. 12, B. Nicolson, „Terbrugghen sińce 1960'*, Album Ami~
corum J. G. eon Gelder, The Hague, 1973, p. 238, Nieuw Licht..., op. cii., p. 124 and p. 165. A drawing fint published in
this last catalogue, The Laughing Dcmocritus (Musee des Beaux-Arts, Bcucn) suppoits this assureptien.
12. Nieuw Licht..., op. cit., p. 84—86.
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by Fout Angełs (Fig. 1, hereafter referred to as David). The first monograph of 1958 by Nicolson7,
the description of works in the catalogue of the 1965-66 exhibition in Dayton and Baltimore8,
and that of the 1981 exhibition entitled God en Goden at the Rijksmuseum9, Amsterdam, make-
relatively lengthy remarks on this painting. These remarks suggest works that may have pro-
vided inspiration for Ter Brugghen, but they are unfortunately somewhat lacking in persuasi-
veness. Therefore I intend here to supplement some of their inadequencies by offering some
remarks on the compositional source of David and on the artistic relationship between Ter
Brugghen and Rubens, and advance a hypothesis about the commission. These remarks will
contribute to clarifying his later activities.
David is a painting on canvas measuring 150 by 190 cm. It was purchased in 1938 by the
Muzeum Narodowe in Warsaw from the B. Gutnajer Collection. Its history previous to that
time is unknown. Records made at the time of the purchase state that it was signed and dated
1628 at the lower left. At present, however, the signature is indistinguishable. A horizontaf
strip of canvas of approximately 10 centimeters in width has been added at the top, and two
pieces of canvas have been sewn together side-by-side at the center to compose the main portion
of the painting. Three other versions of this David are known to exist, i.e., one at the Wadsworth
Atheneum in Hartford, one at Kunsthalle in Kici, and one at the Stadelsches Institut in Frank-
furt. Of these, the Hartford version is generally agreed to be a replica made by Ter Brugghen
after his own original. When compared with the Hartford version, the David in Warsaw appears
to have been cut at the left. The Hartford version also lacks the added 10 centimeters of canvas
at the top, so that it is belived to reflect the original composition10.
Wearing the crown on his head, David sits at the center and plays a harp placed on his knees.
He is gray-haired and bearded, and he holds his face, which shows the ravages of age, turned
slightly upwards towards the viewer. This type of head, as well as the head of the angel behind
David, is used in his depiction of St.Peter and the angel in The Liberation of St.Peter (Mauritshuis,
The Hague, Fig. 2) in 1624. The positioning and the posturę of each figurę are also remarkably
similar in the two paintings. This fact leads us to assume the existence of a model-drawing
readily available in Ter Brugghen's atelier11. The red robę David wears is richly embroidered
in gold after the pattern of the priestly mantle of David van Burgundy, Bishop of Utrecht
from 1456 to 1496. This liturgical garb which is also used in The Crowning of Christ (1620, Natio-
nal Museum, Copenhagen), The St. Sebastian and two other paintings by Ter Brugghen (1625,
Allen Memoriał Museum, Obelin, Ohio, Fig. 3) and David Harping by Honthorst (1622, Centraal
Museum, Utrecht), is still preserved in the Rijksmuseum Catharijnaconvent in Utrecht12. Around
David's legs and below his sleeve a part of a white undergarment can be seen. A carving of a lion
adorns the throne, the back of which is visible below his robe. In front of this carving a thick,
worn-looking manuscript lies closed, while a table covered with a tapestry is placed in front of
David, with its corner pointing outwards towards the viewer. Obyiously, this is an interior
7. B. Nicolson, Hendrick Terbrugghen, op. cif., A 77.
8. Hendrick Terbrugghen in America, The Art Institute, Dayton, The Museum of Art, Baltimore, 1965/66, p. 42.
9. God en Goden, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1981, p. 106.
10. Hendrick Terbrugghen in America, op. cii., p. 42.
11. Regarding the existence of drawings which were repeatedly used by Ter Brugghen or by his pupile in his atelier as modela
for various works, see Hendrick Terbrugghen in America, ap cii. p. 12, B. Nicolson, „Terbrugghen sińce 1960'*, Album Ami~
corum J. G. eon Gelder, The Hague, 1973, p. 238, Nieuw Licht..., op. cii., p. 124 and p. 165. A drawing fint published in
this last catalogue, The Laughing Dcmocritus (Musee des Beaux-Arts, Bcucn) suppoits this assureptien.
12. Nieuw Licht..., op. cit., p. 84—86.
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