The Blinding of Samson

The Blinding of Samson is a history painting by Rembrandt van Rijn. The 205 centimeters high and 272 centimeters wide picture shows the death of Samson, and is one of the most important works of Rembrandt. The painting is in the collection of the Städel Museum in Frankfurt.

Image description

The image of The Blinding of Samson shows an episode from the history of the judge Samson. Samson was a Nazarite, which gave him special strength when he held on to three conditions, such as the prohibition to intersect beard and hair. The scene depicted is followed by the cutting of the hair by Delilah, which betrayed him to the Philistines. This aspect of the plot is taken up in this painting, as Delilah is shown in the background as she flees with the hair and scissors in her hand. Even with the other people put Rembrandt various aspects of action based on this so had to Samson after his hair had been cut off, to be wrestled to the ground and handcuffed, before his eyes were gouged out. This mediated Rembrandt on the fighters, one of whom timidly enters the scene, another Samson holds on the ground, a tie him up and outpaces the eyes. Here is the direct action of the painting of the climax of the story, dazzling with the penetrating knife and on spraying blood. The viewer can also reconstruct the whole plot over the image.

Provenance

Rembrandt made ​​to the image The Blinding of Samson, to bribe Constantijn Huygens due to the late completion of images of the Passion cycle it. This picture was taken over by its possession. The director of the Städel, Ludwig Justi, acquired 1905 The Simons glare of the count's family Schönborn from Vienna. The painting was there in Frankfurt due to the dramatic presentation is not without controversy. The high price of 336,000 marks was applied by the museum association, the city and private donors. Since then the work is considered one of the most important in the collection of the Städel.