David and Goliath

The armies of the Israelites and the Philistines were engaged in battle when the Philistine giant Goliath challenged the Israelites to a man-to-man fight. The winner would also win the battle. The shepherd boy David was the only one who dared to confront Goliath. With a stone from his sling, he managed to fell the giant. He then beheaded him with his own sword.

Here, David holds Goliath's enormous head in one hand and his sword in the other. He still has the slender build of a boy and has to tense his muscles to bear the weights.

The Spanish painter De Ribera was working in Naples when he painted this canvas. The strong contrasts between light and dark are influences from the time he previously spent in Rome.