Caravaggio 1573 – 1610

David with the Head of Goliath (1601/02)

oil on canvas (110 × 91 cm) — c. 1601/02 Museo del Prado, Madrid

Caravaggio biography

This work is linked to 1 Samuel 17:51

David, a young shepherd, has just killed the giant Goliath with only a stone and a sling, thereby saving the people of Israel. Here he picks up the amputated head to use it as a trophy.

This is one out of three paintings by Caravaggio on the subject of David and Goliath. The other ones date from 1606 and 1610.

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