King David in Prayer
by LEYDEN, Lucas van, Etching
Images of David kneeling in prayer with the Lord appearing overhead in the clouds were popular in illustrated bibles in the 16th century. Lucas also illustrated the choice that God demanded of David in a print dated 1520 but with an angel appearing in the clouds holding three arrows. In the next century the most common way of depicting the theme of David’s choice was with a scourge or whip for famine, a sword for war, and a skull for pestilence.