L’Ânesse du prophète Balaam

The subject comes from the Book of Numbers: Balaam, sent to curse the Israelites, is stopped on the road when his she-ass alone sees the angel of the Lord with a drawn sword. Painted in 1626, when Rembrandt was twenty, the panel is one of the earliest dated works of his Leiden years, already showing the biblical narrative, exotic costume and dramatic light that would define his career. The subject is rare in painting, and the picture is one of the celebrated treasures of the Cognacq-Jay collection. The painting is held in the Musée Cognacq-Jay, le goût du XVIIIe.