In Japan, where considerations of seventeenth-century Dutch art have persistently focused solely on the three great masters Hals, Rembrandt, arid Vermeer, Hendrick ter Brugghen (1588-1629) is not a very familiar name. In the United States and Europe, however, he is highly regarded and has received much attention as the most creative and talented of the Utrecht Caravaggisti. This article will examine one of ter Brugghen's later works, King David Harping Surrounded by Four Angels (Fig.1, hereafter referred to as David). My purpose will be to discuss its subject, iconography, and the possible circumstances behind the commission, presenting some hypotheses that have not hitherto been advanced. First, however, a brief survey of the previous research on ter Brugghen is given below.