David and Jonathan 1642

Rembrandt van Rijn’s painting, David and Jonathan, captures a moment of intense emotion and ambiguous affection between two men. Painted in the Dutch Republic around 1642, this work visualizes a biblical scene, but it also speaks to Rembrandt’s social milieu. In a society shaped by Calvinist values, the expression of emotion was often suppressed, particularly between men. The Dutch Golden Age was also a period of relative tolerance, however, and the intimacy of David and Jonathan may reflect a challenge to prevailing social norms. Rembrandt's use of light and shadow heightens the drama, and the opulent costumes hint at the wealth of the Dutch merchant class, whose patronage sustained artists like Rembrandt. The painting’s presence in the Hermitage Museum also points to the shifting fortunes of art, as works moved across Europe through collecting and conquest. Studying Rembrandt involves archival research into the artistic institutions of the Dutch Golden Age, theological debates of the time, and close attention to the visual rhetoric of emotion.