Balaam and the Ass [SEP] creator
Balaam and the Ass
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.
It portrays the biblical account of the talking ass debating with diviner Balaam.
References.
Balaam's Donkey (Numbers 22:21-34)
Bibliography.
- Steven M. Nadler: Rembrandt's Jews, University of Chicago Press, 2003
- http://www.museecognacqjay.paris.fr/en/la-collection/ass-prophet-balaam
long-sought Saviour. Mass immediately followed. In all this the part that pleased the congregation was the role of Balaam and the Ass; hence the popular designation of the "Processus Prophetarum" as "the Feast of the Ass". The part of Balaam was soon dissociated from its surroundings and expanded into an independent drama. The Rouen rubrics direct that two messengers be sent by King Balaak to bring forth the prophet. Balaam advances riding on a gorgeously caparisoned ass (a wooden, or hobby, ass, for the