1604
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Ahijah and Jeroboam is a 1604 by Jan Pietersz Saenredam, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This painting shows a scene where the prophet Ahijah gives a young Jeroboam ten portions of his mantle. The story behind this scene is from the Bible, and it's interesting because Ahijah is a lesser-known prophet. He's giving Jeroboam, a rebel leader, a new mantle, which is a symbol of something new starting. You can learn more about this style by looking at the work of artist: Jan Saenredam (Dutch, 1565–1607).
These four prints were likely meant as two pairs of engravings depicting scenes of the lives of the prophets Ahijah and Elijah. Although Elijah was a common subject for artists, works featuring Ahijah were extremely rare. Other than their common source, the Book of Kings from the Bible, they have no thematic link. The action in this print shows the prophet Ahijah giving the young Jeroboam-a rebel leader set against the idol-worshipping King Solomon-ten portions of his own new mantle. This symbolic gesture predicts Jeroboam's rise to power as king of the ten tribes of Israel. Abraham Bloemaert…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Jan Pieterszoon (abbr. Pietersz.) Saenredam (c. 1565 – 6 April 1607) was a Dutch Northern Mannerist painter, printmaker in engraving, and cartographer, and father of the painter of church interiors, Pieter Jansz…
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