Paintings and Artwork of David and the Psalms

by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson

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Detail of "David Playing the Harp" (1670) by Jan de Bray (Dutch painter, 1627-1697), oil on canvas, 142 x 154 cm, private collection. Larger image.

Marc Chagall (French artist, 1887-1985)

Jan de Bray (Dutch painter, 1627-1697), David Playing the Harp (1670) by  oil on canvas, 142 x 154 cm, private collection.

Fra Angelico, King David playing a Psaltery (1430) Pen and brown ink and purple wash on vellum, 197 x 179 mm, British Museum, London. Another.

William Blake, David Delivered out of Many Waters (ca 1805), Pen and ink and watercolour on paper, 415 x 348 mm

Andrea Celesti (Venice painter, 1637-1712), King David Playing the Zither (), oil on canvas, 135x198 cm. Private collection.

Girolamo da Santa Croce, King David Playing a Psaltery.

Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish Baraque painter1577-1640).

  • Peter Paul Rubens and Jan Boeckhorst, King David Playing the Harp (c. 1616, finished1640s) Oil on Wood Panel, Stadel Art Institute (Städelsches Kunstinstitut), Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (facing left) Geistiger Vater des Psalter: König David beim Harfenspiel. Another large. Peter Paul Rubens und Jan Beockhorst; König David spielt die Harfe. Based on a head by rubens (c. 1616) as a study on a small board, enlarged after his death by his former collaborator Boeckhorst.
  • King David Playing the Harp (c. 1612), pen and brown ink and brown wash (181x150mm), Département des Arts Graphiques du Musée du Louvre, Paris

Pieter de Grebber (Dutch painter, ca. 1600-1653), King David in Prayer (1635-40), oil on canvas, 94x84 cm, Museum Catharijneconvent, Utrecht. Colorful with an angel. David as an old man in golden garment. Striking.

Frederick Leighton (English painter 1830-1896), David at Rest (1865), oil on fabric, 96.5x122.5 cm. Cleveland Museum of Art. The painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1865 with a passage from Psalm 55: "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest."

Moretto da Brescia (Itallian painter, 1498-1554), King David, Southesk Collection. Turbaned David with violin-type instrument.

Phillip Ratner (American painter, ___)

Rembrandt (1606-1669)

Dante Gabriel Rosetti (British Pre-Raphaelite painter, 1828-1882)

  • King David (1858-64), watercolour on paper, 279 x 127 mm. from The Seed of David. Tate Collections
  • David (1858-64), watercolor on paper, 279x133mm. from the Seed of David. Tate Collections. Boy with sling.

Yoram Raanan, King David (2002-03), painting.

Matthias Scheits, David the Psalmist (1672), woodcut, From Biblia, das ist Die gantze H. Schrifft Alten und Newen Testaments, Deutsch.

Hermine F. Schäfer, King David, From Anne de Vries's Children's Bible.

Simeon Solomon (1840-1905), Hosanna (1881), engraved by the Brothers Dalziel. Tate Collections.


Ben Shahn (1898 - 1969), David with Lyre (ca. 1966), Ink brush drawing on rice paper, 513 x 513 mm, Chop; signed "Ben Shahn" lower right. Saint John's Abbey and University.

James J. Tissot (1836-1902, French artist and illustrator)

  • David Singing (1896-1900), watercolor. Psalms 57:7.
  • David Praying in the Night.

Annie Vallotton, The Lord is My Protector, simple line drawing of David with hands raised praising, illustration for 2 Samuel 22:2 from the Good New Bible.

Richard Serrin (1928- )

Elizabeth Jane Gardner (1837-1922), The Shepherd David (ca. 1895), Oil on canvas; 61 1/2 x 42 3/8 in. (156.2 x 107.6 cm), National Museum of Women in the Arts. David rescuing a sheep from the lion.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini's sculpture of David.

Georges Henri Rouault, “The Old King”


Gerrit van Honthorst (1590-1656), King David Playing the Harp (1611), .82x65cm, Centraal Museum, Utrecht, Holland. Larger image.

Gerrit van Honthorst (1590-1656), King David Playing the Harp (1611), .82x65cm, Centraal Museum, Utrecht, Holland.

Hans Orlowski, Der Psalter (1961), 29 Original Holzschnitte - Spätwerk des HDK BERLIN Professors. another.

Albani-Psalter (1125), St. Albans.

Psalterium Sinaiticum 2/N (fol. 1r). Psalter from the Greek manuscript at St. Catherine's monastery, Mt. Sinai. Discovered 1975.

Psalter von 1505. Wertvolle mittelalterliche Handschriften erworben
Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Münster erhielt Psalter und Missale (1999).

Unknown artist

Stained Glass Windows

Charles J. Connick, David the Psalmist, Union Congregational Church, Montclair, New Jersey, USA

William Morris, King David, St. Martin's Church, Yorkshire. Marris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co.

David the Psalmist, Grace Lutheran Church, Jersey City, NJ

Praise the Lord based on Psalm 150, First Presbyterian Church, Glen Ellyn, IL Detail.

David, Church of the Lighted Window, La Canada Flintridge, California

“By the Waters of Babylon” (1865),  Sir Edward Poynter, Tate Collections. Psalm 137.

Collections

Biblical Art on the WWW, Psalms, David at Prayer and Worship

Museum of the Psalms, Jerusalem, founded in 1995. Featuring the work of Moshe Tzvi HaLevi Berger, abstract visual depictions of each of the 150 psalms rendered over 15 years.

Reproductions of David's Lyre

John Wheeler, "King David's Harp" (abridged), with photo of Lyre from ancient Palestine. Discusses research on what a lyre was.

The Shepherds Lyre, AKA King David's Harp, By Phil ____.

David Hamilton, Lyre, reproduced by the Temple Institute, based on lyre on an ancient Temple coin of the Second Temple era. Mishkan Ministries.

"Silver Lyre" found at Ur (ca. 2600-2400 BC), British Museum. Description. Another. Golden Lyre.

Information on the Lyre

Psalter - Andreas Sumerauer

Biblical Musical Instruments

Egyptian Lyre

Musicians of Amun, Tomb of Nakht, 18th Dyn, Western Thebes. Wikipedia.

This famous portrait of three Jewish kinnor players (being taken captive by an Assyrian, far left) is excerpted from a bas-relief in the palace of Assurbanipal (705-681 B.C.) at Nineveh, portraying the fall of the Judean city of Lachish. While the strings of these lyres are not well-drawn (at least in this rendition), the middle one does seem to have seven strings.

Ancient Coins

Ancient coints from Palestine

Bronze 4-string lyre, "year one of the redemption of Israel," Bar Kokhba, 132 AD.

denarius, AR,  3 string lyre "For the freedom of Jerusalem." Bar Kokhba, 135-135 AD.

 

Illuminated manuscript of Hebrew psalter, Psalms 61, 62. Ms. Parm. 1870 (Cod. De Rossi 510), Palatina Library, Parma, italy.

 

Experiencing the Psalms

Christian Art and Paintings: Abraham Art | Agnus Dei Art | Angel Art | Annunciation Art | Celtic Stone Cross Art | Christian Symbols and Art | Christmas Art | David |  Easter Art | Elijah | Passion of Christ by Tissot | Gideon | Hebrew-Jewish Art | Holy Week Art | Jacob | Jesus' Ministry Art | Jesus' Teaching Art | Jesus Portraits and Art | John the Baptist | John the Apostle | Lamb of God Art | Last Supper Art | Madonna & Child Art | Moses and the Exodus | Names of God Art | OT Misc Art | Psalms Art | Palm Sunday Art | Paul Art and Paintings | Day of Pentecost Art | Peter Art and Paintings | Prayer Art | Resurrection Art | Revelation Art | Solomon |Thanksgiving and Pilgrims Art | Timothy Art and Paintings
Copyright of artwork. Much, but not all, of the artwork linked to on this site is in the public domain worldwide due to the date of death of its author (if it is was published outside of the U.S. and the author has been dead for over 70 years), or due to its date of publication (if it was first made public in the U.S. before 1923), at least in the United States (see Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp.), in Germany, and in many other countries.

Copyright © 2024, Ralph F. Wilson. <pastor@joyfulheart.com> All rights reserved. A single copy of this article is free. Do not put this on a website. See legal, copyright, and reprint information.

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