NARRATOR:
Peter Paul Rubens was among the most versatile and influential artists of the 17th century. An educated member of the Antwerp middle class, he was painter to the courts of Europe, renowned for cycles of allegorical paintings. He created David Slaying Goliath around 1616.
The young shepherd David slew the giant Goliath in a battle with the Philistines. According to the Hebrew prophet Samuel, the boy simply hurled a stone at him:
SAMUEL [ACTOR]:
“The stone sank into the giant’s forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. David ran and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of its sheath, and slew him, and cut off his head with it.”
NARRATOR:
Rubens represents the moment just before David delivers the fatal blow. The combatants nearly fill the canvas, their violent movement held in careful suspension. An implied circular motion—to be completed when David swings his sword—adds to the drama and intensity of the scene. Notice how the bare-chested figure of David is projected against the bright blue sky, emphasizing both his vulnerability and strength. In the distance, the Israelites storm their enemy, while gold-tinged clouds foreshadow their imminent victory.
David’s story symbolizes the triumph of good over evil. But it was also popular for its political implications, demonstrating how God grants power to the weak and oppressed.
David Slaying Goliath
c. 1616
Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640)
On View
Rubens chose to depict the moment when David, having felled the giant and taken possession of his sword, is about to sever the head of his adversary. The two monumental figures occupy nearly the entire painting, with only a fragment of the battle in the background. A strong circular motion (which will be completed with the impending swing of the sword) animates the composition and increases the tension of the drama. The attacking form of David and the prone Goliath are balanced against one another in a wonderfully calculated equilibrium. The background landscape extends into the vast distance, which is emphasized by the low line of the horizon. As a result, the dramatic foreground action is almost completely silhouetted against the sky, and is relieved and balanced only by the variation of color.
Details
- Artist Name: Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640)
- Title: David Slaying Goliath
- Date: c. 1616
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 48-3/8 x 39 in. (122.9 x 99.1 cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1972.05.P
- Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation
Object Information
Generale Giovanni Francesco Arese (1642-1721), Osnago (Milan), by 1711, sold 1810 by his heirs to;
Prince Eugène de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg (1781-1824), Stadtpalais, Munich, Bequeathed to his son;
Maximilian (d. 1852), Munich, bequeathed to his son;
Nicholas (d. 1890), who transferred the collection to the Marinepalais in St. Petersburg in 1863, bequeathed to his son Nicholas (d. 1928), who sold the painting to;
[A(xel) B(eskow) Nordiska Kompaniet, Stockholm, 1917, sold by Axel Beskow probably to];
Mrs. Hester Mullett, Buffalo, New York (Sotheby's, New York, 15 Nov. 1945, lot. 45, ill. to Pereda);
Vicente Caledonio Pereda, Buenos Aires, Argentina, until 1972.
[Frederick Mont, Inc., New York, 1972, to;]
The Norton Simon Foundation.
Prince Eugène de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg (1781-1824), Stadtpalais, Munich, Bequeathed to his son;
Maximilian (d. 1852), Munich, bequeathed to his son;
Nicholas (d. 1890), who transferred the collection to the Marinepalais in St. Petersburg in 1863, bequeathed to his son Nicholas (d. 1928), who sold the painting to;
[A(xel) B(eskow) Nordiska Kompaniet, Stockholm, 1917, sold by Axel Beskow probably to];
Mrs. Hester Mullett, Buffalo, New York (Sotheby's, New York, 15 Nov. 1945, lot. 45, ill. to Pereda);
Vicente Caledonio Pereda, Buenos Aires, Argentina, until 1972.
[Frederick Mont, Inc., New York, 1972, to;]
The Norton Simon Foundation.
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