David and Goliath (or David with the Head of Goliath or David Victorious over Goliath) is a painting by the Italian Baroque master Caravaggio (1571-1610). It was painted about 1599, and is held in the Museo del Prado, Madrid. Two later versions of the same theme are currently to be seen in Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (David with the Head of Goliath (Vienna)) , and in Rome's Galleria Borghese (David with the Head of Goliath).
The David and Go...
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David and Goliath (or David with the Head of Goliath or David Victorious over Goliath) is a painting by the Italian Baroque master Caravaggio (1571-1610). It was painted about 1599, and is held in the Museo del Prado, Madrid. Two later versions of the same theme are currently to be seen in Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (David with the Head of Goliath (Vienna)) , and in Rome's Galleria Borghese (David with the Head of Goliath).
The David and Goliath in the Prado was painted in the early part of the artist's career, while he was a member of the household of Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte. It shows the Biblical David as a young boy (in accordance with the Bible story) fastening the head of the champion of the Philistines, the giant Goliath, by the hair. The light catches on David's leg, arm and flank, on the massive shoulders from which Goliath's head has been severed, and on the head itself, but everything else is dark. Even David's face is almost invisible in the shadows. A...
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