Separation of David and Jonathan

Rembrandt painted the Separation of David and Jonathan around 1642, depicting the emotional farewell between the young David — soon to flee King Saul's jealous rage — and his closest friend Jonathan, who remained behind at court. The subject from 1 Samuel 20 provided Rembrandt with an opportunity to explore male friendship and grief with the emotional directness he brought consistently to biblical narrative. The two figures embrace in a desolate landscape at twilight; the quality of melancholy in the composition reflects Rembrandt's sustained engagement with the emotional range of Old Testament relationships rather than the more conventionally triumphant or miraculous subjects that dominated earlier biblical painting. The Hermitage Museum's holding connects the canvas to the Russian imperial collection's systematic acquisition of Rembrandt's Old Testament subjects throughout the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

The two embracing figures form a pyramidal composition against the luminous background of a classical city, with the elaborate oriental costumes rendered in Rembrandt's characteristic warm golds and deep reds.