Hendrik de Clerck

In the Bible, the virtuous Abigail appeased King David with gifts after her wealthy but evil husband, Nabal, slighted David’s troops. In this crowded composition, Hendrik de Clerck shows Abigail kneeling in front of David’s horse. De Clerck created his forms with short dashes, circles, and a gossamer-like network of fluidly curling lines, with broader marks used for the landscape and background. As the monogram in the lower center suggests, this drawing was made as an independent work, and not as preparation for a print or painting.

De Clerck’s use of pen and wash is mannered and idiosyncratic. The ink, applied in curved, abbreviated strokes, and the tonal wash create an overall rhythm across the drawing with little correspondence to either narrative import (the meeting of David and Abigail, found in the lightened central portion) or a natural source of light. The artist’s monogram suggests that this was a finished drawing, intended for a collector who would appreciate the anecdotal detail, various types of figures, and beautifully rendered setting as much as the narrative.