Abishai before David

This panel belongs to a large multi-part altarpiece painted around 1435 by Konrad Witz, a German-born artist, and is now held by the Kunstmuseum Basel. Both scenes once occupied the lower row on the inside of the right wing of the Mirror of Salvation Altarpiece in St Leonard's Church in Basel. Its imagery draws on the Speculum Humanae Salvationis, a popular illustrated devotional book written in Latin in the Middle Ages. The altarpiece was later dismantled, and much of it was lost. The story comes from the Old Testament, specifically 2 Samuel. During a war with the Philistines, who were camped at Bethlehem, King David wished aloud for a drink from the well by the city gate. Three of his finest warriors, Abishai among them, slipped through the enemy lines, drew the water and brought it back. David would not drink it. He poured it on the ground as an offering to God, seeing it as the blood of men who had risked their lives. The episode speaks of loyalty and sacrifice, and these panels are regarded among Witz's finest works.

Painter

Konrad Witz

Date

1435

Medium

oil paint

Dimensions

102 × 80 cm

Museum

Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel

Genre

religious art

Depicts

Abishai, David

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