Pieter Bruegel I

The Suicide of Saul in the Battle of Mount Gilboa against the Philistines, 1562, Oil on oak panel, 34.7 x 55.6 cm, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna; 1011, Erich Lessing / Art Resource, NY

Alone Again, Naturally

Commentary by Peter Doebler

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Pieter Bruegel I’s painting attracts the eye like an anthill: teeming with bodies and movement, the spectacle is dizzying. The cacophony of the armies in the lower right corner is balanced by the open expanse in the upper left and we get a bird’s-eye-view of the event.

The most surprising thing is how the core event of the story—the suicide of Saul—is pushed aside. If one does not know the title of the painting, and perhaps even if one does, it could take a while to pick up on this detail and figure out what the scene is about. Once the eye finds it on the left margin, what is conveyed is a sense of loneliness, as if Saul and his armour-bearer float on an island above the tumult below. The biblical accounts are ambiguous about the proximity of Saul to his sons (1 Samuel 31:2–3; 1 Chronicles 10:2–3). Bruegel exploits this gap, isolating the father from the diminutive figures who lie slain on the rock jutting up in the middle of the painting.

Saul’s marginalization in this composition is further reinforced by the line of archers depicted at the centre of the panel. They all point to the right, away from Saul. The text states that Saul was wounded by the archers and then asked his armour-bearer to kill him (1 Samuel 31:3–4; 1 Chronicles 10:3–4). Yet, in Bruegel’s version it is not obvious that Saul was ever struck; indeed, the overall composition suggests otherwise; that Saul is almost ignored, an afterthought. Even the soldiers clambering up the rock face in the lower-left foreground—it is unclear whose side they are on—appear surprised to stumble upon the dying Saul. The uncanny scene summarizes the loneliness that marks the life of this tragic figure, from the man who did not particularly want to be king to the megalomaniac who later did not want to relinquish power. 

See full exhibition for 1 Samuel 31; 1 Chronicles 10

1 Samuel 31; 1 Chronicles 10

Revised Standard Version

1 Samuel 31

31 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount Gilboʹa. 2And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan and Abinʹadab and Malʹchishuʹa, the sons of Saul. 3The battle pressed hard upon Saul, and the archers found him; and he was badly wounded by the archers. 4Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and make sport of me.” But his armor-bearer would not; for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword, and fell upon it. 5And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword, and died with him. 6Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together. 7And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

8 On the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboʹa. 9And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to their idols and to the people. 10They put his armor in the temple of Ashʹtaroth; and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. 11But when the inhabitants of Jaʹbesh-gilʹead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12all the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan; and they came to Jabesh and burnt them there. 13And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

1 Chronicles 10

10 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount Gilboʹa. 2And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan and Abinʹadab and Malʹchishuʹa, the sons of Saul. 3The battle pressed hard upon Saul, and the archers found him; and he was wounded by the archers. 4Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and make sport of me.” But his armor-bearer would not; for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword, and fell upon it. 5And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword, and died. 6Thus Saul died; he and his three sons and all his house died together. 7And when all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

8 On the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboʹa. 9And they stripped him and took his head and his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to their idols and to the people. 10And they put his armor in the temple of their gods, and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon. 11But when all Jaʹbesh-gilʹead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, 12all the valiant men arose, and took away the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh. And they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

13 So Saul died for his unfaithfulness; he was unfaithful to the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance, 14and did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord slew him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.

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