Maerten van Heemskerck

In this drawing, the biblical king David rides a lion, surrounded by figures symbolizing various episodes of his life. Maarten van Heemskerck’s remarkable control of the pen is evident in the range of marks, which vividly describe textures and surfaces. The drawing was in preparation for one of six engravings on the theme of patience. The engraver then carefully traced Van Heemskerck’s outlines using a blind stylus-a marking tool-transferring the design to the copperplate.

Maerten van Heemskerck’s drawing was used to create one of six engravings on the theme of Patience composed in a successive "triumph" or procession format. To transfer the design, the drawing’s contours were incised with a stylus onto a thin ground of wax on a copperplate or onto intermediary tracing paper. Close inspection will reveal incised lines on the contours of figures in the drawing. Here, David, one of the most powerful of Old Testament kings, rides upon a lion, which he has clearly tamed. Behind him Saul, who tried to murder him with a spear, is shown ready to strike. Simei, a captive who cursed David, follows behind, while in the background David is poised to strike down the giant Goliath. David is triumphant over his worldly trials and an exemplar for others.

The Haarlem artist Maarten van Heemskerck drew over two hundred designs for prints, of which this drawing is one example. His careful outlines and hatch marks indicate to the engraver the appropriate patterns of shading for the subsequent engraving, reproduced below. The print differs very little from the drawing. To transfer the design, the drawing’s contours were incised with a stylus onto a thinground of wax on a plate or onto intermediary tracing paper. The drawing’s indented contours can be seen in the detail at right.