Melchizedek and Abraham (Melchisedech offrant du pain et du vin à Abraham)

Etching with a Biblical scene of the Genesis, illustrating Melchizedek offering wine and bread to Abraham, accompanied by a verse in Latin summarizing the part of the Genesis in which the story is narrated. The image shows Melchizedek to the right, holding loaves of bread in his arms, which he extends in offer to Abraham, on the cenrer of the picture, dressed in classical armory, and with his body, reaching a spade and box from his soldiers, is half-turned to gaze at Melchizedek and his men, who bring the wine. To his left is the army of soldiers accompanying Abraham. This offer of bread and wine by Melchizedek is often considered by Medieval scholars as a form of annunciation of both the Adoration of the Magi and the Last Supper of the New Testament. The composition by Delaune, however, seems to have been intended as an illustration of historical events, as he was protestant and, following Calvin's suggestions, might have rejected much of the symbolic signification in religious pictures. His composition is also closely related, although inverse, to a version of the same subject by Bernard Salomon for Claude Paradin's "Quadrins historiques de la Bible;" it is also closely related to a picture by Antoine Caron, from around 1590, with almost the same composition as this etching by Delaune.



The scene is part of a set of 36 prints illustrating the history of the Genesis, all with an inscription in Latin under the picture, summarizing the passage of the Bible (Genesis 14: 18-20) in which Melchizedek offers bread and wine to Abraham and all those who come to him from the war. The succession of episodes in this set is somewhat chaotic, as only three plates illustrate the history of Creation, while six are consecrated to the history of Adam and Eve, and with striking breaks in the narration. The existence of more complete sets of drawings by Delaune on the same subject suggest that he might have intended more plates to illustrate the history of the Genesis in a more thorough manner, although the prints are yet to be found. Many of these prints represent, simultaneously, two or more episodes separated in time, following the 16th century tradition, inherited from the Middle Ages. Most of them are also inspired on the engravings by Bernard Salomon, created to illustrate the "Quadrins historiques de la Bible" (Historical Biblical Scenes) by Claude Paradin, first published in Lyon in 1553.