DOI Heft:
Nr. 3
DOI Artikel:Załęski, Krzysztof: Stanisław Lorentz 1899-1991
DOI Artikel:Benesz, Hanna: Daniel and King Cyrus in front of Baal: a late Rudolfine and late Humanist painting by Bartholomäus Strobel from the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18940#0074
L'enterrement de Stanisław Lorentz eut lieu le 20 mars 1991 a 12 heures au cimetiere evan-
gęliąue de Varsovie. Des centaines de personnes de toute la Pologne etaient venus rendre liom-
mage au plus grand museologue polonais, homme exceptiomiel. Le President de la Republique
adressa une lettre de condoleances a la familie du defunt.
Krzysztof Załęski
Traduit par Zsolt Kiss
Hanna Benesz
DANIEL AND KING CYRUS
IN FRONT OF BAAL
A LATE RUDOLFINE AND LATE HUMANIST PAINTING BY BARTHOLOMAUS
STROBEL FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM IN WARSAW*
To the memory of my
spiritual and professional master-
Professor Jan Białostocki
The viewer is introduced into a mysterious and sumptuous palące interior, crowded with
people (Fig. 1) In numerous distances of somewhat illogical space a spectacle is being unfolded.
The composition of the painting is based on two crossing diagonals, with several vertical elements
and motifs which are supposed to designate the space if not the depth of the picture. The scenę,
or rather a cluster of scenes represent a story from the book of Daniel (Appendix II, 14: 1—21)1
which tells about unmasking dishonest priests in the court of the Persian king Cyrus. The priests
deceited people in making them believe that a clay idol Baal was a real living god because he
obviously ate immense ąuantities of food every day.
In a dense polyphony of bright colours, elegant figures and elaborate details, we first diśtin-
guish the main dramatis personae: King Cyrus sitting on his throne and Daniel standing in
front of him, with a gesture of his hand pointing at the statuę of Baal placed under luxurious
baldachin, dominating the middle distance of the composition. Daniel is convincing the King
that the Babylonians' belief concerning the real ,,living God" is erroneous and assumes a bold
uńdertaking to prove the priests' cheat. If he succeeds in doing this the priests shall die, if not —
* This is an erdarged version of the attribution which I vcntured in 1989 at the end of my article , ,Les oeuvres provenant du
miiieu de Rodolphe II dans les collections du Musće National a Varsovie" which was to appear in 1991 in Porta Mortis.
Ltber Pro memoriam Prof. Białostocki, Vienna. This publication is delayed due to f inancial problcms. Independently, as
I have learned from a note in the article by J. Sżczcpińska-Tramer,, 'El Festin de Herodcs': notas sobre el cuadro
de Bartholomaus Strobel" in: Goya, no 223—224, 1991, pp. 2—16, this author also made the same attribution.
1. This story, as well as the one about annihilation of Baal and the dragon, belong to the so called deuterbcanonical books
of the Catholic Bibie and are not recognized by Protestants as integral parts pf the Scripture. As apocryphal books they
were edited in Amsterdam in the 16th century.
59
gęliąue de Varsovie. Des centaines de personnes de toute la Pologne etaient venus rendre liom-
mage au plus grand museologue polonais, homme exceptiomiel. Le President de la Republique
adressa une lettre de condoleances a la familie du defunt.
Krzysztof Załęski
Traduit par Zsolt Kiss
Hanna Benesz
DANIEL AND KING CYRUS
IN FRONT OF BAAL
A LATE RUDOLFINE AND LATE HUMANIST PAINTING BY BARTHOLOMAUS
STROBEL FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM IN WARSAW*
To the memory of my
spiritual and professional master-
Professor Jan Białostocki
The viewer is introduced into a mysterious and sumptuous palące interior, crowded with
people (Fig. 1) In numerous distances of somewhat illogical space a spectacle is being unfolded.
The composition of the painting is based on two crossing diagonals, with several vertical elements
and motifs which are supposed to designate the space if not the depth of the picture. The scenę,
or rather a cluster of scenes represent a story from the book of Daniel (Appendix II, 14: 1—21)1
which tells about unmasking dishonest priests in the court of the Persian king Cyrus. The priests
deceited people in making them believe that a clay idol Baal was a real living god because he
obviously ate immense ąuantities of food every day.
In a dense polyphony of bright colours, elegant figures and elaborate details, we first diśtin-
guish the main dramatis personae: King Cyrus sitting on his throne and Daniel standing in
front of him, with a gesture of his hand pointing at the statuę of Baal placed under luxurious
baldachin, dominating the middle distance of the composition. Daniel is convincing the King
that the Babylonians' belief concerning the real ,,living God" is erroneous and assumes a bold
uńdertaking to prove the priests' cheat. If he succeeds in doing this the priests shall die, if not —
* This is an erdarged version of the attribution which I vcntured in 1989 at the end of my article , ,Les oeuvres provenant du
miiieu de Rodolphe II dans les collections du Musće National a Varsovie" which was to appear in 1991 in Porta Mortis.
Ltber Pro memoriam Prof. Białostocki, Vienna. This publication is delayed due to f inancial problcms. Independently, as
I have learned from a note in the article by J. Sżczcpińska-Tramer,, 'El Festin de Herodcs': notas sobre el cuadro
de Bartholomaus Strobel" in: Goya, no 223—224, 1991, pp. 2—16, this author also made the same attribution.
1. This story, as well as the one about annihilation of Baal and the dragon, belong to the so called deuterbcanonical books
of the Catholic Bibie and are not recognized by Protestants as integral parts pf the Scripture. As apocryphal books they
were edited in Amsterdam in the 16th century.
59