Balaam and the Ass
Medium
Gouache heightened with gold on vellum laid down on panel
Dimensions
{"sheet":{"height":0.137,"width":0.196}}
Classification
Drawing
Department
Drawings
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
2022.3
Tags
About this artwork
While this small miniature, made with watercolor on parchment, depicts a scene from the Old Testament in the left foreground, its primary subject is the expansive rural scene, landscape, and distant hillside city beyond. Hans Bol combined realistic city views, based on his onsite observation, with imaginary scenes and narratives, appealing to his late-16th-century urban Netherlandish audience. The story of the Balaam and the Ass was associated with greed in the period. The miniature was likely p...