Belshazzar's Feast

Rembrandt painted Belshazzar's Feast around 1635, when he was 29 and at the peak of his early success in Amsterdam. The painting depicts a moment from the Book of Daniel: Belshazzar, king of Babylon, throws a feast using the sacred vessels looted from the Temple in Jerusalem. A disembodied hand appears and writes four words on the wall. The king and his guests freeze in terror. The canvas is roughly 66 by 82 inches, a large horizontal format. Belshazzar sits at the center, rising from his throne, his face pale with shock. To his left, a woman in white recoils from the writing on the wall. Other guests lean back, raise their hands, or stare upward. The sacred gold vessels are scattered on the table. The writing appears in Hebrew script on the wall behind the king's head, glowing with a supernatural light. Rembrandt was fascinated by the story's theatrical possibilities. He had been painting dramatic biblical scenes since his arrival in Amsterdam, using strong contrasts of light and dark to create tension. This painting is one of the most extreme examples. The light source is the writing itself, which illuminates the faces and hands of the figures while the rest of the room is in deep shadow. The composition is crowded and chaotic, with figures pressing in from all sides, amplifying the sense of panic. Rembrandt painted the Hebrew inscription on the wall with actual Hebrew letters. He likely consulted a Jewish scholar in Amsterdam, which had a large Jewish community. The letters read "MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN," the words from the Book of Daniel. However, Rembrandt arranged them in vertical columns rather than horizontal lines, a stylistic choice that has been debated by scholars. Oil on canvas, 167.6 by 209.2 centimeters. Rembrandt used thick impasto for the gold vessels and the writing on the wall, building the highlights with ridges of paint. The dark background is thinly painted, with the figures emerging from shadow. The dramatic lighting and large scale of this painting make it suitable for a dining room or living room with strong lighting. The 18x24 framed version in a gold frame complements the painting's golden highlights. The painting has been in the National Gallery in London since 1964. This is a public domain artwork, sourced from Wikimedia Commons. We print it on archival matte paper at sizes from 8x10 to 24x36 inches, framed or unframed. The image is printed at full resolution with no cropping.