Death of Absalom

A pen and brush drawing in brown ink and washes shows a riderless horse rearing to the right while a man tumbles backward from its back, arms flung wide beneath a tree. Black chalk underdrawing is visible beneath the washes, and the loose sketched lines suggest quick movement.

Look closer: Faint handwritten inscription in the lower margin, partly legible.

Artist

Anonymous, Spanish, School of Seville, 17th century

Date

17th century

Medium

Pen and dark brown ink, brush with light brown and gray washes, over black chalk underdrawing. On off-white paper

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

3628 × 2666 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William B. Jaffe, 1956