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The Prophetess Deborah Ordering Barak to Take Arms against Sisera

1728–33
Not on view
Solimena, the leading painter of his generation from Naples, became famous throughout Europe for his versatility as a painter of religious and mythological compositions on a monumental scale and for his portraits. In this free, rapidly drawn sketch, he represented the prophetess Deborah, seated under a palm tree, ordering Barak to take arms against Sisera (Judges 4: 5–7). The drawing is a study for Solimena’s Deborah and Barak, painted in Naples around 1728-33, and now in the Harrach’sche collection of Schloss Rohrau, Vienna.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Prophetess Deborah Ordering Barak to Take Arms against Sisera
  • Artist: Francesco Solimena (Italian, Canale di Serino 1657–1747 Barra)
  • Date: 1728–33
  • Medium: Brush and black ink, brush and gray wash, over black chalk (recto); small black chalk sketch of a nude male figure (verso)
  • Dimensions: 14-15/16 x 11-15/16 in. (37.9 x 30.3 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1963
  • Object Number: 63.98.1
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Jupiter with his Eagle (recto), Francesco Solimena Italian, Pen, brown ink, gray wash over black chalk
Jupiter with his Eagle (recto)
Francesco Solimena
1657–1747
Group of Allegorical figures: Sketch for a Ceiling Decoration ?, Francesco Solimena Italian, Pen, brown ink, gray wash over black chalk
Group of Allegorical figures: Sketch for a Ceiling Decoration ?
Francesco Solimena
1657–1747
Study for the Fall of Simon Maqus, S. Paolo Maggiare, Naples, Francesco Solimena Italian, Pen and brown ink, gray, green, and rose washes over graphite
Study for the Fall of Simon Maqus, S. Paolo Maggiare, Naples
Francesco Solimena
1690
The Continence of Scipio, Francesco Solimena Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash, over black chalk
The Continence of Scipio
Francesco Solimena
1657–1747
Allegorical Figure of Study, Francesco Solimena Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash, over black chalk
Allegorical Figure of Study
Francesco Solimena
1657–1747

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