Lucas van LeydenDutch, 1494–1533Jael Killing Sisera
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Jael Killing Sisera” now? Collection: Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Minneapolis, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
According to the Book of Judges from the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), Sisera was the commander of the army of King Jabin and had oppressed the Israelites for more than twenty years. When Sisera's army was defeated in battle by the Israelite commander Barak, Sisera fled to the village of Heber of Kenite, with Barak hot on his trail. Seeking refuge, he encountered Heber's wife, Jael, a Hebrew, who sheltered him in her tent and gave him milk. Exhausted, Sisera fell asleep. Seeing her chance to avenge her people's suffering, Jael drove a tent stake into his brain with a workman's mallet, crushing his skull and pinning him to the ground. He lay dead, murdered by the heroine's deception. Some believe that Jael, whose name means Jehovah is God, was compelled to murder by the Holy Spirit. Other interpretations also suggest Jael exhausted Sisera with sexual intercourse, a sin absolved for its laudable goal of glorifying God.
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Details
- Accession number
- P.10, 631
In the catalog
Sources
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Image: Minneapolis Institute of Art — public domain
In the life of Lucas van Leyden
The whole life1514
Master of the Guild of Saint Luke in Leiden
He became a master of the Guild of Saint Luke in Leiden.
1515
Marriage to Elisabeth van Boschuysen
He married Elisabeth van Boschuysen of a patrician Leiden family; her father Jacob had been burgomaster and sheriff. The marriage remained childless.
1517
Illustrations for Aurelius's Chronicles
He cut woodcut illustrations for the Chronicles of Holland, Zeeland and Friesland by the humanist Cornelius Aurelius.
8 – 21 June 1521
Meeting Dürer in Antwerp
During Dürer's Netherlandish journey the two artists met in Antwerp between 8 and 21 June 1521; they exchanged prints, and on this occasion Dürer drew a portrait of Lucas van Leyden.
