The Book of Law Read to Josiah, 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 number95.36.2.1
Not on view
DescriptionThis is the first 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 first print "The book of law read to Josiah" Josiah's secretary reads to him from the rediscovered book of the law, which makes Josiah realize that the Israelites have deviated from the work of the Lord by following Baal. He rends his clothes in despair.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. "La Chroniques des Arts, L'AGE D'OR DE LA SCULPTURE A TOULOUSE", GAZETTE DES BEAUX-ARTS, March 1997, no. 1538.
