David, virtvtis exercitatissimae probatum Deo spectaculum : ex Dauidis pastoris, militis, ducis, exsulis ac prophetae exemplis
A 1597 Latin emblem-style book printed in Frankfurt by the de Bry brothers, with text by Benito Arias Montano and Konrad Rittershausen, telling the life of King David through engraved scenes for a learned Protestant readership. The four engravings show armoured soldiers with spears, a severed head presented to a king, a fallen figure among mourners, and a king watching a burning city. A designer could take the dense crosshatched engraving, the crowded groups of spearmen, and the staging of narrative tableaux with clear gestures.
