Balaam and the Ass explained

Balaam and the Ass is a 1626 painting by the Dutch artist Rembrandt, dating from his time in Leiden and now in the Musée Cognacq-Jay in Paris.

The painting portrays the biblical account of the talking ass debating with diviner Balaam.

The scene is based on Rembrandt's teacher Pieter Lastman's composition of the same subject from 1622, now in the Israel Museum Collection, Jerusalem. The figure of Balaam and his ass are direct borrowings from Lastman.

See also

• List of paintings by Rembrandt

References

Balaam's Donkey (Numbers 22:21-34)

Bibliography

• Steven M. Nadler: Rembrandt's Jews, University of Chicago Press, 2003
• Jane Turner (ed.): From Rembrandt to Vermeer - 17th-Century Dutch Artists (Grove Dictionary of Art), 2000., New York, p. 268
• http://www.museecognacqjay.paris.fr/en/la-collection/ass-prophet-balaam