Suicide of Saul
1562, Artist: Pieter Bruegel d. Ä.
Suicide of Saul
This biblical story describes the battle between Israelites and Philistines on Mount Gilboa which ends in the defeat and suicide of King Saul (to the left in the picture). There are numerous inter-pretations: punished pride, the foolishness and perversity of the world, human delusion, vanity; the main subject is the landscape, while the story is of secondary importance; humanity is subject to the inevitable course of nature.
Object data
Object Name
Painting
Culture
Netherlandish
Dated
1562
Artist
Pieter Bruegel d. Ä. (um 1525/30 Breugel oder Antwerpen? - 1569 Brüssel) - GND
Material
oak wood
Dimensions
Overall: 34,7 cm × 55,6 cm × 0,5 cm
Framed: 47,5 cm × 69 cm × 5,5 cm
Signed
Inscribed at the lower left edge of the picture between two pieces of rock: SAVL. XXXI CAPIT.; and: BRVEGEL. M.CCCCC.LXII
Image rights
Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Gemäldegalerie
Inv. No.
Gemäldegalerie, 1011
Provenance
Coll. P. P. Rubens (estate inventory 1640, no. 212?); documented in the gallery 1783
Permalink (citable Link) to this page: www.khm.at/en/object/322/
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