The destruction of Baal's altar by Pieter Aertsen, Judges 6:25-32, Bible.Gallery
The destruction of Baal's altar created
1550
nad was completed in 1555
Its dimension is 27cm wide and
27cm high
and it was drawn with pen and brush style.
Artwork Description
The destruction of the altar of Baal shows how the Old Testament Gideon, one of the leaders of the Jewish people, destroys the altar of Baal and encapsulates his holy forest (Judges 6:25-27). For fear of controversy, that happened overnight. The prominent flares and the long shadows make this clear. In the background, Gideon offers two young bulls to his God. The drawing is a design for a stained glass window, a so-called glass circle. It is an interesting acquisition because Aertsen is nowadays known primarily as the founder of genre-like still lifes. A drawing like this one shows once again what a versatile artist he was, who was also involved in pure history and, moreover, in the design of stained glass windows.
Artist : Pieter Aertsen