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Catalogue number: Bredius 179.
A possible suggestion for the subject of this painting is King Uzziah. The story, 'Uzziah stricken with leprosy', is related in 2 Chronicles, Chapter XXVI, vv. 18-19, and also told in greater detail by Flavius Josephus in his Jewish Antiquities, Book IX, paragraph 222. King Uzziah of Judah, who brought great prosperity to his realm, became so puffed up with pride that he entered the temple of Jerusalem and tried to burn incense at the altar, which only priests were permitted to do. As a punishment for his presumption he was struck down with leprosy. In Rembrandt's painting, the face of the man is tense with rage or fear, which would be suitable for Uzziah or some other Old Testament figure. Moreover, the face is blotched with greyish-white flecks, which are not due to discolouration of the paint, and can hardly be anything other than the marks of leprosy.
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