Peter Paul RubensFlemish, 1577–1640Daniel in the Lions' Den
May one see it?
Yes, receiving visitors
National Gallery of Art
Room45 · West Building, Main FloorWashington, D.C., United States
On public display.
- Checked
- 4 hours ago
- In this state since
- Aug 19, 2026
- Source
- The museum's own collection data
About the painting
Daniel in the Lions' Den is an oil painting by the Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens, a pioneer of Baroque art. Painted around 1615, it depicts the biblical story of Daniel in the lions' den in the Book of Daniel, in which Daniel, a Jewish prophet, is cast into a den of lions for defying a royal decree that prohibited praying to anyone but king Darius the Mede. Daniel's miraculous survival is owed to his piety to God. The painting's classical elements and verisimilitude indicate the influence of Rubens' time in Italy; the lions are life-size and contribute to its dramatic impact. The figure of Daniel, influenced by classical sculptures and Italian Renaissance painting, is depicted as a young man, despite biblical chronology suggesting he was much older.
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Rubens' original intent for Daniel in the Lions' Den is unknown, though modern commentators suggest it was a political allegory or motivated by Counter-Reformation beliefs about personal faith, allowing viewers to visualize Daniel's suffering. The painting was initially owned by Dudley Carleton, 1st Viscount Dorchester. It was later presented to King Charles I of England, who displayed it in the Bear Gallery at the Palace of Whitehall. Over the centuries, the painting changed hands multiple times and was misattributed to Rubens' collaborators Paul de Vos and Jacob Jordaens before its true identity was rediscovered. It was eventually made part of the Hamilton Palace collection in Scotland before being sold to the National Gallery of Art of Washington, D.C. in 1965.
Particulars
- Accession number
- 1965.13.1
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- National Gallery of Art: the museum's own open data · fetched 4 days ago
- Image: National Gallery of Art — Museum open access
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