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David with the Head of Goliath (Vienna) (Caravaggio)
Encyclopedia
David with the Head of Goliath, c. 1607, in the Kunsthistorisches Museum
Gemäldegalerie, Vienna
, is a painting by the Italian
artist Caravaggio
(1571–1610). Peter Robb
believes it to have been acquired by the conde de Villamediana in Naples between 1611 and 1617, as Giovanni Bellori records Villamediana as having returned to Spain with a half-figure of David by Caravaggio.
The exact moment depicted appears to be that referred to in I Samuel 17:57: "When David came back after killing the Philistine, Abner took him and presented him to Saul with the Philistine's head still in his hand." The pose is a usual one for the episode, showing David striding in triumph with the head in his hand. In the Boghese version this has changed to an unconventional frontal presentation of the head toward the viewer, who is thereby placed in the position of Saul.
The painting can be compared with the David with the Head of Goliath
in the Galleria Borghese
, which dates from either 1607 or 1609/10. The two are very similar - Caravaggio frequently explored a subject in multiple variations, most notably his many versions of John the Baptist - but the Vienna painting is less 'dark' in mood, the David more triumphant than the introspective and oddly compassionate David of the Borghese, and the head of Goliath, widely accepted as a self-portrait of the artist in the Borghese, is more generic.
The model for David in both versions appears to be a more mature version of the pubescent Cupid of Amor Vincit Omnia and the Capitoline and Pamphilij John the Baptist
, all painted around 1602. The model for these works has been identified by some, most notably Peter Robb
, as Cecco, a boy known to have been Caravaggio's servant in Rome in the early 17th century and believed by Robb to be identical with Cecco del Caravaggio
, an artist active in Rome in the period 1610-1625 and painting very much in Caravaggio's manner. There is no record of Cecco having been with Caravaggio after the artist's flight from Rome in 1606.
Kunsthistorisches Museum
The Kunsthistorisches Museum is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on Ringstraße, it is crowned with an octagonal dome...
Gemäldegalerie, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, is a painting by the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
artist Caravaggio
Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was an Italian artist active in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily between 1593 and 1610. His paintings, which combine a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, had a formative influence on the Baroque...
(1571–1610). Peter Robb
Peter Robb
Peter Robb is an Australian author.Robb spent his formative years in Australia and New Zealand, and between 1978 and 1992 he spent most of his time in Naples and southern Italy, interspersed with sojourns in Brazil. At the end of 1992 he returned to Sydney.His first book, Midnight in Sicily, was...
believes it to have been acquired by the conde de Villamediana in Naples between 1611 and 1617, as Giovanni Bellori records Villamediana as having returned to Spain with a half-figure of David by Caravaggio.
The exact moment depicted appears to be that referred to in I Samuel 17:57: "When David came back after killing the Philistine, Abner took him and presented him to Saul with the Philistine's head still in his hand." The pose is a usual one for the episode, showing David striding in triumph with the head in his hand. In the Boghese version this has changed to an unconventional frontal presentation of the head toward the viewer, who is thereby placed in the position of Saul.
The painting can be compared with the David with the Head of Goliath
David with the Head of Goliath (Caravaggio)
David with the Head of Goliath is a painting by the Italian Baroque artist Caravaggio. It is housed in the Galleria Borghese, Rome. The painting, which was in the collection of Cardinal Scipione Borghese in 1613, has been dated as early as 1605 and as late as 1609–1610, with more recent scholars...
in the Galleria Borghese
Galleria Borghese
The Borghese Gallery is an art gallery in Rome, Italy, housed in the former Villa Borghese Pinciana. It is a building that was from the first integral with its gardens, nowadays considered quite separately by tourists as the Villa Borghese gardens...
, which dates from either 1607 or 1609/10. The two are very similar - Caravaggio frequently explored a subject in multiple variations, most notably his many versions of John the Baptist - but the Vienna painting is less 'dark' in mood, the David more triumphant than the introspective and oddly compassionate David of the Borghese, and the head of Goliath, widely accepted as a self-portrait of the artist in the Borghese, is more generic.
The model for David in both versions appears to be a more mature version of the pubescent Cupid of Amor Vincit Omnia and the Capitoline and Pamphilij John the Baptist
John the Baptist (Caravaggio)
John the Baptist was the subject of at least eight paintings by the Italian Baroque artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio ....
, all painted around 1602. The model for these works has been identified by some, most notably Peter Robb
Peter Robb
Peter Robb is an Australian author.Robb spent his formative years in Australia and New Zealand, and between 1978 and 1992 he spent most of his time in Naples and southern Italy, interspersed with sojourns in Brazil. At the end of 1992 he returned to Sydney.His first book, Midnight in Sicily, was...
, as Cecco, a boy known to have been Caravaggio's servant in Rome in the early 17th century and believed by Robb to be identical with Cecco del Caravaggio
Cecco del Caravaggio
Cecco del Caravaggio , is the name used for a Baroque artist working in Rome in the early decades of the 17th century, an important early follower of Caravaggio. He has been identified as Francesco Boneri , although this is not universally accepted.Little is known about Cecco del Caravaggio...
, an artist active in Rome in the period 1610-1625 and painting very much in Caravaggio's manner. There is no record of Cecco having been with Caravaggio after the artist's flight from Rome in 1606.