New photography by Pat Cagney captured with a digital camera.

Destruction of the temples of Ashtaroth and Chemosh, The Story of King Josiah

Artist Philip Gallé

Artist Maerten van Heemskerck (Netherlandish, 1498 - 1574)

CultureNetherlandish

Dateca. 1569

MediumEtching

DimensionsOverall: 8 x 9 7/8 in. (20.3 x 25.1 cm)

InscribedNumbered and signed by Heemskerck as inventor and provided with an explanatory Latin text derived from the Biblical narrative.

Credit LineMuseum purchase

Object number95.36.2.5

Not on view

DescriptionThis is the fifth of eight prints of Heemskerck's Story of King Josiah depicting the dramatic and often violent history of the Israelite king Josiah as recounted in II Kings 23. They focus on the sin of idolatry. In the fifth print "Destruction of the temples of Ashtaroth and Chemosh" the depiction of image-smashing, centering on the colossal pagan idol at left, has become one of the most famous and familiar graphic images from the third-quarter of the 16th century.

Label TextPhillip Galle Netherlandish (1537-1612) after Maerten van Heemskerck Netherlandish (1498-1574) THE STORY OF KING JOSIAH, ca. 1569 8 engravings Museum Purchase 95.36.2.1-.8 The 16th-century Netherlandish artist Maerten van Heemskerck achieved fame both as a painter and a print designer. Indeed, between the late 1540s and his death in 1574, he produced more than 700 designs for etchings and engravings. Like the eight-part Story of King Josiah, many of these prints depict Old Testament narratives that had never before been illustrated and that influenced scores of later Dutch artists, including Rembrandt. Though Walter Chrysler's 1971 donation to the Museum included an important painting by Heemskerck - the 1565 Apollo and the Muses on Mount Helicon - his collection contained no example of Heemskerck's work as a print designer. The 1995 purchase of The Story of King Josiah filled that gap beautifully, making it possible for the Museum to represent both sides of Heemskerck's artistry. The Story of King Josiah is a violent tale of sinfulness, righteous vengeance and virtue restored. It begins as the just Israelite king Josiah has the holy book of law read to him and realizes that his people have strayed from the Lord by worshipping pagan gods. In the second print the king has the book read to his people. Josiah then embarks on a campaign of purification, killing the false priests and smashing their idols (prints 3 through 7). Order, virtue and the will of God are restored in the final print as the king presides over the Passover celebration. Edited By: GLYExhibition History"Treasures for the Community: The Chrysler Collects, 1989-1996," October 25,1996 - February 16, 1997 Published ReferencesEleanor A. Saunders, A commentary on iconoclasm in several print series by Maarten van Heemskerck, (Simiolus, 10 (1978-79), pp. 63 ff. Kunstvoor de beeldenstorm, (exhib. cat., Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1986), pp. 60-63. Jan Garff, Tegninger of Maerten van Heemskerck, Copenhagen, 1971.