DUTCH SCHOOL, 17TH CENTURY | ABRAHAM AND MELCHIZEDEK

This painting shows the meeting between Abraham and Melchizedek as recounted in Genesis 14. Melchizedek, the Priest-King of Salem is represented wearing a red robe decorated with elaborate gold embroidery. He offers bread and wine to the soldier Abraham, who is in armor as he returns from a victorious battle. This story in the Old Testament is seen as a prefiguration of the Last Supper. The popularity of this subject in the 17th Century is witnessed through the various artists who portrayed this story such as Sir Pieter Paul Rubens.