Rembrandt: Belshazzar's Feast, oil on canvas, 1635, today: National Gallery, London

The Feast of Belshazzar or more often Belshazzar’s Feast is a famous painting by Rembrandt based on the Bible story of the Babylonian ruler Belshazzar. The latter was predicted his impending death and the ruin of his empire by a mysterious handwriting on a wall. Various artists tried theirselves with this very theme. The painting to be seen here was executed by Rembrandt in about 1635. Belshazzar’s Feast is signed “Rembrandt f. 163rd”, but the last digit is not legible. The painting Belshazzar’s Feast is not less than 1.67 x 2.09 meters tall, executed as oil on canvas and is exposed today at the National Gallery in London.

The story of Belshazzar is described in the Old Testament of the Bible (The Feast of Belshazzar, Daniel 5:25). Belshazzar is celebrating a grand party. At this occasion he would use vessels, which his father had captured in the temple of Jerusalem, while a ghostly writing appeared on the wall of his palace. Immediately he summoned his scribes, but they just proved being incapable of deciphering the text. However, the Prophet Daniel, laid in chains, was called now and read: מנא ,מנא, תקל, ופרסין (Mene, Mene, Tekel u-Pharsin). Daniel and interpreted the writing on the wall as a prophecy for fall of Belshazzar and his kingdom. Indeed, in the same night Belshazzar was slain by his servants.

The literal translation of Mene, Mene, Tekel u-Pharsin from Aramaic is unclear. Daniel interpreted the oracle with the help of similar-sounding Aramaic verbs: counted, weighed and divided. Daniel interpreted as follows:
God hath counted thy kingdom, and end it
You have been weighed and found being to light
Thy kingdom will be divided and given to the Medes and Persians.

Rembrandt captured in his painting the moment as the mysterious handwriting appears on the wall. Despite the festive situation, the terrified faces of those present and the horror of Belshazzar’s dominate the artwork. The king obviously does not understand the lettering; nevertheless he has a strong feeling that it could mean no good. While other painters skipped in their paintings of Belshazzar’s Feast usually the presentation of the mysterious script, – no one knew exactly how it write it – Rembrandt took up the challenge. Probably Rabbi Manasseh ben Israel, who had been portrayed by Rembrandt in 1636, helped Rembrandt in this regard. The script is written in Hebrew letters andto be read from the right to the left, and especially to read from the top to the bottom.