David and Abigail

1514

Pen and black ink, heightened with white on grey prepared paper

215 × 155 mm

Praun-, Esterházy collection

This scene of an elegant woman dismounting a horse and handing a goblet to a horseman represents the biblical story of the meeting between David and Abigail (1 Sam. 25). It depicts the episode when Abigail, Nabal’s wife, attempts to conciliate David with peace-offering gifts. Previously the rich Nabal refused to supply David and his men, who protected his shepherds. David set out to punish Nabal, but, accepting Abigail’s gesture, eventually renounced revenge. The composition of the Budapest design corresponds with Albrecht Altdorfer’s drawing in the Berlin Kupferstichkabinett.