Samson (삼손)

 

 

 

 

 

Lucas Cranach the Elder 1472 – 1553

Samson and the Lion

oil on panel — 1520-1525

  Schlossmuseum, Weimar

Lucas Cranach the Elder biography

 

This work is linked to Judges 14:6

(삿 14:6)

여호와의 영이 삼손에게 강하게 임하니 그가 손에 아무것도 없이 그 사자를 염소 새끼를 찢는 것 같이 찢었으나 그는 자기가 행한 일을 부모에게 알리지 아니하였더라

 

 

 

 

 

 

Albrecht Dürer 1471 – 1528

Samson and the Lion

woodcarving — ca. 1498

British Museum, London

Albrecht Dürer biography

 

This work is linked to Judges 14:6

(삿 14:6)

여호와의 영이 삼손에게 강하게 임하니 그가 손에 아무것도 없이 그 사자를 염소 새끼를 찢는 것 같이 찢었으나 그는 자기가 행한 일을 부모에게 알리지 아니하였더라

 

 

 

 

 

 

Il Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) 1591 – 1666

Samson Captured by the Philistines

oil on canvas (191 × 237 cm) — 1619

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Il Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) biography

 

This work is linked to Judges 16:21

(삿 16:21)

블레셋 사람들이 그를 붙잡아 그의 눈을 빼고 끌고 가사에 내려가 놋 줄로 매고 그에게 옥에서 맷돌을 돌리게 하였더라

 

Delilah has cut Samson's hair, thereby undoing his invincibility. The Philistines immediately capture their enemy.

This early work by Guercino shows a very dramatic scene, but the depiction remains natural. A representative of the Pope in Ferrara commissioned the work, the same man that ordered The return of the prodigal son.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jan Lievens 1607 – 1674

Samson and Delilah

oil on canvas (131 × 111 cm) — 1630-1635

  Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Jan Lievens biography

 

This work is linked to Judges 16:19

(삿 16:19)

들릴라가 삼손에게 자기 무릎을 베고 자게 하고 사람을 불러 그의 머리털 일곱 가닥을 밀고 괴롭게 하여 본즉 그의 힘이 없어졌더라 잠5:3, 잠7:21

 

Samson is asleep in the lap of his beloved Delilah. He doesn't know that she works for his enemy, the Philistines. Delilah hands a pair of scissors to a frightened Philistine. Samson had just told her the secret of his gigantic strength: his uncut hair.

 

 

 

 

 

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 1606 – 1669

Samson Accusing His Father-in-Law

oil on canvas (156 × 129 cm) — ca. 1635

Gemäldegalerie der Staatlichen Museen, Berlin

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn biography

 

This work is linked to Judges 15:1

(삿 15:1)

얼마 후 밀 거둘 때에 삼손이 염소 새끼를 가지고 그의 아내에게로 찾아 가서 이르되 내가 방에 들어가 내 아내를 보고자 하노라 하니 장인이 들어오지 못하게 하고 창38:17

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 1606 – 1669

Samson Tells a Riddle at his Feast

oil on canvas (126 × 175 cm) — 1638

  Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn biography

 

This work is linked to Judges 14:12

(삿 14:12)

삼손이 그들에게 이르되 이제 내가 너희에게 수수께끼를 내리니 잔치하는 이레 동안에 너희가 그것을 풀어 내게 말하면 내가 베옷 삼십 벌과 겉옷 삼십 벌을 너희에게 주리라 겔17:2

 

 

Samson wants to marry a daughter of the Philistines, against his parents' wishes. At their wedding feast, our hero tells a riddle to some youths, who have been sent by the enemy to keep an eye on the invincible giant. Samson is on to them, and asks them this riddle: "Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness."

Only Samson could possibly know the answer, as he was referring to the lion he killed earlier and in whose carcass he had later found a swarm of bees.

The composition strongly resembles that of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper. In the center, the serene bride. on the right, the youths with Samson (with his characteristic long hair). on the left, the other wedding guests.

 

 

 

 

 

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 1606 – 1669

The Angel Ascends after Manoah's Sacrifice

drawing with pen and brush (23 × 20 cm) — c. 1655

  Nationalmuseum, Stockholm

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn biography

 

This work is linked to Judges 13:20

(삿 13:20)

불꽃이 제단에서부터 하늘로 올라가는 동시에 여호와의 사자가 제단 불꽃에 휩싸여 올라간지라 마노아와 그의 아내가 그것을 보고 그들의 얼굴을 땅에 대고 엎드리니라

 

Manoah and his wife are without children as she cannot conceive. But then one day a "man of God" appears to the woman and tells her she will soon be pregnant.

Out of gratitude Manoah sacrifices a kid goat. Then something miraculous happens: the man of God ascends in the flame, up to heaven.

The Bible says that Manoah and his wife both fell to the ground. Rembrandt choose a depiction that is more in line with their reactions. Manoah fears he will die as he has just seen God. His wife is more down to earth: if God had wanted to kill them, he wouldn't have gone through all that trouble.

Manoah's wife is not named. She would indeed give birth to a child: the great Samson.

The caption in French reads "L'ange quitte Manüé et sa femme, et s'éleve au milieu de la flame quil avoit excitée": the angel leaves Manoah and his wife, and rises in the flame he ignited. It was probably written by the 18th century French collector Pierre Crozat, who owned some 350 Rembrandt drawings.

Rembrandt made two other drawings on this episode, in the late 1630s and in the early 1650s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 1606 – 1669

The Blinding of Samson

oil on canvas (236 × 302 cm) — 1636

Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn biography

 

This work is linked to Judges 16:21

(삿 16:21)

블레셋 사람들이 그를 붙잡아 그의 눈을 빼고 끌고 가사에 내려가 놋 줄로 매고 그에게 옥에서 맷돌을 돌리게 하였더라

 

One of few paintings showing the moment Samson's eyes are put out by the Philistines. Delilah hurries away from the tent; in her hand, she is holding the hair that made Samson invulnerable.

 

 

 

 

 

Peter Paul Rubens 1577 – 1640

Samson and Delilah

oil on panel (185 × 205 cm) — 1609-1610

  National Gallery, London

Peter Paul Rubens biography

 

This work is linked to Judges 16:19

(삿 16:19)

들릴라가 삼손에게 자기 무릎을 베고 자게 하고 사람을 불러 그의 머리털 일곱 가닥을 밀고 괴롭게 하여 본즉 그의 힘이 없어졌더라 잠5:3, 잠7:21

 

Samson has fallen asleep in the lap of his beloved Delilah. Not knowing that she works for his enemy, the Philistines, he told her the secret of his enormous strength: his uncut hair. When he sleeps, the Philistines quickly cut his hair.

The statue in the background shows Venus and Cupid, well-known symbols of love. The crossed hands of the Philistine with the scissors stand for deceit.

Rubens made this painting for Nicolaas Rockox, an alderman in Antwerp. It was acquired by the National Gallery in 1980. There is a second version, in the Cincinnati Art Museum.

 

 

 

 

 

Anthony Van Dyck 1599 – 1641

Samson and Delilah

oil on canvas (148 × 257 cm) — 1628-1630

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Anthony Van Dyck biography

 

This work is linked to Judges 16:19

(삿 16:19)

들릴라가 삼손에게 자기 무릎을 베고 자게 하고 사람을 불러 그의 머리털 일곱 가닥을 밀고 괴롭게 하여 본즉 그의 힘이 없어졌더라 잠5:3, 잠7:21

 

Delilah has just cut off some of Samson's hair. The scissors and the hair are in the foreground to the left. Samson then lost his invincibility and immediately was captured by the Philistines.

This painting shows the influence of Van Dyck's two great examples. Rubens lent him the strong figures, and Titian inspired the use of warm colours.