Sébastien Bourdon, 'The Return of the Ark', 1659
About the work
Overview
This painting illustrates an episode described in the Old Testament (1 Samuel: 6-12), which is rarely depicted in art. The Ark – a wooden chest covered in gold containing the Ten Commandments – is pulled along on a cart drawn by cattle. It is being returned to the Israelites after the Philistines stole it in battle, and the Israelites are rejoicing. The Ark was a sacred object to Jews and Christians as it had been built by Moses according to God’s instructions. God punished the Philistines for their theft and forced them to send the Ark back to its rightful owners.
Across the lake, vivid white buildings represent the Israelites‘ city of Besh-shemesh. Although the landscape with snow-capped mountains is imaginary, it resembles the countryside around Rome, where Bourdon spent most of his life. The classical composition, which draws our attention to the figures’ dramatic gestures, varied architecture and the contrast between light and shade, shows the influence of Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665), the most celebrated painter in seventeenth-century France.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Return of the Ark
- Artist
- Sébastien Bourdon
- Artist dates
- 1616 - 1671
- Date made
- 1659
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 105.3 × 134.6 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Presented by Sir George Beaumont, 1826
- Inventory number
- NG64
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Humphrey Wine, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Seventeenth Century French Paintings’, London 2001; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
-
2014Hot Spot Rome. Sébastien Bourdon's Munich: Lime KilnBayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen13 February 2014 - 18 May 2014
-
2016Painters' Paintings: From Freud to Van DyckThe National Gallery (London)23 June 2016 - 4 September 2016
Bibliography
-
1789K.-H. von Heinecken, Dictionnaire des artistes, Leipzig 1789
-
1883C. Ponsonailhe, Sebastein Bourdon, sa vie et son oeuvre: D'après des documents inédits tirés des archives de Montpellier, Montpellier 1883
-
1922J. Farington, The Farington Diary, ed. J. Greig, 8 vols, London 1922
-
1946Martin Davies, National Gallery Catalogues: French School, London 1946
-
1957Martin Davies, National Gallery Catalogues: French School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1957
-
1959J. Reynolds, Discourses on Art, 1788, ed. R.R. Wark, San Marino 1959
-
1971G.E. Fowle, The Biblical Paintings of Sébastian Bourdon, Ann Arbor 1971
-
1985M. Wilson, French Paintings before 1800, London 1985
-
1989V. Lavergne-Durey, 'Les Titon, mécènes et collectionneurs à Paris à la fin du XVIIe et au XVIIIe siècles', Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art Français, 1989, pp. 77-103
-
1994A. Mérot, La peinture française au XVIIe siècle, Paris 1994
-
2000J. Thuillier, Sébastien Bourdon 1616-1671: Catalogue critique et chronologique de l'œuvre complet (exh. cat. Musée Fabre, 7 July - 15 October 2000; Musées de Strasbourg, 25 November 2000 - 4 February 2001), Montpellier 2000
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
-
2001Wine, Humphrey, National Gallery Catalogues: The Seventeenth Century French Paintings, London 2001
-
2006B. Gady and M. Weil-Curiel, 'Un amateur méconnu, ami de Charles Le Brun: Le chanoine Guillaume Thomas', Revue de l'art, 153, 2006, pp. 31-9
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.