Pedro Núñez del Valle

Jael and Sisera (1630)

National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin 

As told in the book of Judges, Jael was an Old Testament heroine who rescued the Israelites from the Canaanites. The Israelites, led by Barak, fought against their oppressors with such vengeance that the Canaanite leader, Sisera, fled and sought refuge in Jael’s home. She received him with false hospitality, offering him milk and a place to rest, but while he slept, she pounded a nail into his temple. Núñez del Valle depicted the moment when Barak arrives in search of his enemy and finds him dead. The artist based Sisera’s armor on the Roman-style suit of the King of Spain that was made by Bartolomeo Campi, and that of Barak on the armor that was made for Charles V by Desiderius Helmschmid.

Pedro Núñez del Valle

Jael Killing Sisera (1630)