Aanbod van Abigaïl c. 1695 - 1780

Curator: This delicate engraving is titled "Aanbod van Abigaïl," or "Abigail's Offer" and dates from approximately 1695 to 1780. It resides here at the Rijksmuseum. What are your initial thoughts? Editor: There’s a fragility to the lines, despite the intensity of the moment depicted. It gives the scene an almost dreamlike quality, though I am immediately aware of the imbalance of power, and curious to know more. Curator: The piece depicts a scene from the Bible, specifically the story of Abigail and David. Abigail, you see offering provisions, essentially a bribe, to David and his soldiers. It illustrates a negotiation for peace. Its creation, distributed as a print, shows a powerful means for dispersing biblical lessons throughout society. Editor: That is what I thought. Viewing this through a lens of gender and power, it raises some unsettling questions. Abigail, in her pose, seems both supplicant and strategic. The performative aspects of feminine virtue come to mind. It almost reads as social coercion, with this idea of woman using "feminine wiles". Is it an accurate reflection of women in power? Or one mediated by patriarchy? Curator: These images play an important role in how biblical stories became part of the collective consciousness of the time. Its influence moved beyond the religious context, and that’s partly because of printmaking’s function within the culture of the day. Remember this image and others like it helped solidify the social order of 17th and 18th century Europe. Editor: Absolutely, and to engage with that order, is also to investigate the role art can play in liberation and resistance. Where in these old tales, do the subjugated truly manage to find liberation and empowerment? Curator: Thank you. These historical images require a more nuanced point of view than often granted. This has really sparked some questions that our listeners can engage with further! Editor: Thank you for putting that into perspective. Now I am off to read that passage from the Bible and do some reflecting!