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Il Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri): Samson Captured by the Philistines

Il Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) 1591 – 1666

Samson Captured by the Philistines

oil on canvas (191 × 237 cm) — 1619
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

This work is linked to Judges 16:21

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Delilah has cut Samson's hair, thereby undoing his invincibility. The Philistines immediately capture their enemy.

This early work by Guercino shows a very dramatic scene, but the depiction remains natural. A representative of the Pope in Ferrara commissioned the work, the same man that ordered The return of the prodigal son.

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  • Lucas Cranach the Elder: Samson and the Lion
  • Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn: Samson Accusing His Father-in-Law
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  • Albrecht Dürer: Samson and the Lion
  • Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn: Samson Tells a Riddle at his Feast
  • Anthony Van Dyck: Samson and Delilah