The possibility that this picture was painted during the artist’s Polish period from the 1630s onwards, is emphasised by the fact that the figure of Belshazzar himself, seated in the centre of the table on the left, has above him the Polish Imperial Dragon, as a symbol of his power.  The majestic king cannot be identified with either of the Polish monarchs for whom Strobel is known to have worked.  The extravagance of the scene with its numerous figures and strong lighting effects is typical of middle-European painting in the first part of the seventeenth century.  The subject appears to have no basis in historical fact.  Belshazzar was King of Babylon in the 6th century BC.  In the middle of a banquet a mysterious hand wrote the words ‘Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin’ which threw the King and his Court into panic.  Daniel the Prophet explained and that night Belshazzar was slain by the Persians and his Kingdom overthrown.  The subject was particularly favoured by Baroque artists, the most famous example being by Rembrandt in the National Gallery, London.

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