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Three men in the furnace

Maker

(artist)
1596-1674

Title

Three men in the furnace

Date of Production

(circa) 1630 - 1640

Medium

grey ink, grey wash, white bodycolour, on grey-brown laid paper, hinged at the top to a historic support

Dimensions

Height: 39.7 cm
Width: 31.9 cm

Accession Number

D.1952.RW.2975

Mode of Acquisition

Robert Clermont Witt, bequest, 1952

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords




Related Works

Expulsion from Paradise Abraham entertaining the angels Sacrifice of Isaac Rebecca offering a drink to Eliezer at the well Esau selling his birthright to Jacob Joseph and Potiphar's wife Finding of Moses Moses striking the rock to give to drink to the children of Israel Worship of the Golden Calf Samson carrying the Gates of Gaza Samson pulling down the Temple Esther before Ahasuerus Elijah and the ravens Trials of Job Belshazzar's feast Healing of Tobias' father

Label Text

The Old Testament tells how Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into a 'burning fiery furnace' for refusing to obey the command of King Nebuchadnezzar to worship golden images. The three men emerged unscathed as a sign that God 'delivered his servants that trusted him...' (Daniel 3, 28). The story was seen as a prefiguration of the birth of Christ, since the men survived the flames unhurt, in the same way as Mary gave birth but remained a virgin. It also illustrates the dual aspects of fire as both destructive and purifying. The three Hebrews survived because there was nothing impure to burn.

Provenance

possibly a private collection in Freiburg im Breisgau; Gutekunst & Klipstein (Bern), November 1938, no. 51; purchased there by Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952); Witt Bequest 1952

Exhibition History

The Four Elements, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1996

Literature

Michiel Plomp, Jane Ten Brink Goldsmith, Paul Huys Janssen, Michiel Kersten, John Michael Montias, and Adrienne Quarles von Ufford, Leonaert Bramer (1596-1674): Ingenious Painter and Draughtsman in Rome and Delft, exh. cat., Stedelijk Museum Het Prinsenhof, Delft, 1994
p. 312 under no. 1

Gutekunst & Klipstein, Bern, Leonard Bramer: brush drawings in ink, 1938; XXXIX
no. 51

Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermark: none.

Inscription: Recto: upper right corner, grey ink: "55". Support (historic), Recto: lower left, graphite, Witt number: "2975"; lower left, graphite, circled, erroneous Gutekunst number (should be “51”): "15"; lower centre, graphite: "Die drei Männer im Feuerofen Daniel 3.".

Collector's mark: none.

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