Excerpt from

What Do You See? — A Child’s First Introduction to Art, Volume 1 by Laurie Bluedorn

Belshazzar’s Feast

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606-1669) was Dutch and is considered one of the world’s greatest painters. He was most creative in his portraits and his illustrations of scenes from the Bible. This painting is called Belshazzar’s Feast and was painted around 1635. Today, you can find it in The National Gallery, London.

1) Read the account in the Bible of Belshazzar’s feast (Daniel 5:1-6, 25-28).
2) Does this painting accurately portray the Biblical account of Belshazzar’s feast?
3) How many people are in this painting?
4) Whose hand is writing the words on the wall?
5) Name two things in the painting which communicate movement?
6) Describe Belshazzar’s clothing.
7) What is the center of interest in this painting — is it Belshazzar’s face or the writing on the wall? *
8) Which of the ten paintings in this volume would you like to have for your own?

* A center of interest is the all-important part of a painting — that part of the picture where the artist wants you to look first and which attracts the mind. The center of interest often has the sharpest edges, the brightest colors, and the most detail. In addition, it often contains a color that doesn’t exist anywhere else on the painting. Keep in mind, though, not all paintings contain a center of interest, plus, unless the artist has told us what he intended his center of interest to be, there could be differences of opinion as to a painting’s center of interest.