Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem
Rembrandt van Rijn
REMBRANDT VAN RIJN, 1630. OIL ON PANEL.
Misery came not from surprise but from knowledge. The prophet Jeremiah had foreseen the destruction of Jerusalem and had urged penitence on behalf of those whose sinfulness was the root cause of the inevitable siege. Yet his calls had not been heeded, and that what he had foreseen came to light brought no satisfaction, only the sadness that he could not have changed the fate he saw in his visions. Rembrandt depicts him here as old and world-weary, having received the prophesies as a young man it is as if the weight of his knowing has taken its toll. He sits alone, the drama heightened by stark contrasts between the light and dark, and he appears as a solitary figure, made so by the unique knowledge of the future he was given by god. The riches in front of him offer no solace, and Rembrandt’s ode to this reluctant prophet is one of deep empathy, his personal suffering becomes analogous to that of Jerusalem.