Daniel in the Lion's Den

In Daniel in the Lion’s Den, Sir Peter Paul Rubens translates one of the world’s most cherished Bible stories from words on a white piece of paper to oil on a blank canvas. The painting is able to demonstrate exactly what words are not able to portray. At times, it can be hard for an author to portray the true meaning of his work just through the use of words. The sentence “The boy was happy that his parents had bought him a new bicycle,” is able to describe the factual proof that the boy is happy. But if this sentence were to be transcribed into a painting, the onlookers would be able to see exactly how happy the boy is and maybe even take part in the joy themselves. Sir Peter Paul Rubens makes it so that the spectator is able to understand just how Daniel and the lions feel about the situation they have been put in.

When first looking at this piece of art, the eyes are immediately drawn to Daniel himself, who is set apart from the lions by the light that transcends through the opening in the ceiling of the cave. Daniel is afraid and hopeless, looking through the opening and praying with his hands clasped that God will save him from the ravage lions. Daniel sits on a red cloak, which can symbolize the strong emotions that are raging through his body in this moment. Bones and skulls of the lions’ previous escapades are scattered throughout the scene, adding to the hopelessness the painting portrays for Daniel.

As the story goes, God closes the mouths of the lions in order to save Daniel from getting devoured. In this painting, it seems as if Rubens has chosen the timing of the scene as halfway between the beginning and the end of the process of closing the lions’ mouths. Two lions next to Daniel have their mouths wide open, growling as if they are ready to eat a supper long deserved. Two lions have their mouths shut, one looking angry that he has to miss out on the feast and the other looking sad that the other lions get his share of the meat. Two lions have fallen asleep, acting as if nothing has gone wrong. Rubens focus in this painting was not to simply show us how this event is played out in the Bible, but to give the observer a taste of the emotions that such an event would incur.