''The Blinding of Samson'' is a 1636 painting by Rembrandt, now in the Städel (in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

). The painting is the first of its kind in pictorial tradition. No other artist at the time had painted this specific narrative moment. This painting was a gift to the

House of Orange The House of Orange-Nassau (Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the politics and government of the Netherlands ...

, Rembrandt's current patron of a few commissioned paintings, via its secretary

Constantijn Huygens Sir Constantijn Huygens, Lord of Zuilichem ( , , ; 4 September 159628 March 1687), was a Dutch Golden Age poet and composer. He was also secretary to two Princes of Orange: Frederick Henry and William II, and the father of the scientist Ch ...

, as an excuse for the delay of the commissioned Passion paintings. Later it was acquired by

Friedrich Karl von Schönborn Friedrich Karl von Schönborn (or Friedrich Carl, 1674–1746) was the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg and Prince-Bishop of Bamberg from 1729 to 1746. He also served as ''Reichsvizekanzler'' (Vice-Chancellor) of the Holy Roman Empire from 1705 to 17 ...

and remained in the

Palais Schönborn-Batthyány Palais Schönborn-Batthyány is a Baroque palace in the Innere Stadt district of Vienna, Austria. It was built by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach around 1699-1706 for count Adam Batthyány. In 1740, his widow sold the residence to the noble S ...

in Vienna until it was acquired by the Städel in 1905.

Description

''The Blinding of Samson'' shows an episode from the biblical story of Judge

Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...

. Samson was a

Nazarite In the Hebrew Bible, a nazirite or a nazarite ( he, נָזִיר ''Nāzīr'') is one who voluntarily took a vow which is described in . "Nazarite" comes from the Hebrew word ''nazir'' meaning "consecrated" or "separated". Those who put themselves ...

, which gave him special strength when he kept three conditions, such as not cutting his beard and hair. The scene depicted follows the cutting of Samson's hair by

Delilah Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ar, دليلة, Dalīlah; grc, label= Greek, Δαλιδά, Dalidá) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved ...

, who betrayed him to the

Philistines The Philistines ( he, פְּלִשְׁתִּים, Pəlīštīm; Koine Greek (LXX): Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: ''Phulistieím'') were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan from the 12th century BC until 604 BC, whe ...

. This aspect of the plot is repeated in this painting, since Delilah is shown in the background fleeing with a shock of hair and scissors in hand. Rembrandt also portrayed different aspects of the plot with the other characters. After his hair had been cut off, Samson had to be wrestled to the ground and tied up before his eyes were gouged out. This is what Rembrandt conveyed through the combatants, one of whom fearfully enters the scene, another holds Samson to the ground, one ties him up and one gouges out his eyes. The immediate action of the painting is the climax of the story, the blinding with the penetrating knife and the spurting blood. However, the viewer can reconstruct the entire action via the image.

References

External links

Die Blendung Simsons
1636 paintings Paintings by Rembrandt Paintings in the collection of the Städel Rembrandt Torture in art {{17C-painting-stub