Melchizedek Blessing Abraham
n.d.
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash, with framing line
Dimensions
sheet: 10 11/16 x 14 7/16 in. (27.2 x 36.6 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harry G. Sperling Fund and Frits and Rita Markus Fund, 2003
Accession Number
2003.319
Tags
Art Historical Context
Jan Luyken’s drawing captures the poignant biblical moment when Melchizedek, the priest-king of Salem, blesses Abraham after his victory, as recounted in Genesis 14. The scene unfolds across a gentle hillside, where the two men stand at the center amid goats and attendants, evoking the pastoral landscape of ancient Canaan. Created with pen and brown ink and finished in delicate gray washes, the sheet measures roughly 27 by 37 centimeters and features a crisp framing line, suggesting it may have served as a design for an engraving or book illustration. Luyken, a prolific Dutch artist of the la...
About the Artist
Jan Luyken
Dutch, Amsterdam 1649–1712 Amsterdam