Lot 11: Johann Hulsmann (active Cologne 1632-1646)

Johann Hulsmann (active Cologne 1632-1646)
The Abduction of the Women at the Dance of Shiloh
oil on canvas, unframed
58 x 79 in. (147.3 x 200.6 cm.)

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The ancient Shiloh was the religious capital of Israel in the time of the Judges. As described in Judges 21, a war between tribes killed every man, woman and child of the tribe of Benjamin, save for six hundred young men. After the war, the perpetrators repented and tried to find wives for the surviving men, so that the tribe could perpetuate. Four hundred virgins were found in the only city that was not guilty of the massacre. The other two hundred were kidnapped during a religious celebration in Shiloh, when the daughters of the city went out to dance in the vineyards.