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Orazio Gentileschi
, Italian, 1563-1639
Title
David and GoliathDatec.1605-1607
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
185.5 x 136 cm
Credit LinePurchased, 1936 (Lane Fund)
Object numberNGI.980
DescriptionGentileschi’s father was a goldsmith and his elder brother Aurelio was a painter of some ability. Orazio travelled to Rome at the age of 17, and his early works were in the late Mannerist style. From the beginning of the new century, after his encounter with Caravaggio, he turned to Naturalism. David and Goliath is a rare example of this early change in direction, which is a triumph of composition and displays a tremendous balance of colour. It is strongly three-dimensional and, in part, still reflects Gentileschi’s Mannerist education, but the action is expressed in a new, dramatic and realistic way. The figures are sharply lit from above, creating distinct contrasts of chiaroscuro, even if the artist preferred to use softly blended colours. The brave shepherd boy brings down the Philistine soldier Goliath with stones in a sling and then cuts off his head. The biblical subject of this picture became particularly popular after the Tridentine Council, as a symbol of the triumph of true faith over heresy. The subsequent scene of David’s return to Jerusalem in triumph was widely depicted by Caravaggio’s followers.
In the 1620s Gentileschi moved first to France and later to England, where he became court painter to King Charles I.
March 2016
ProvenanceA small sweetshop in the Limehouse area of London, where purchased by Tomás Harris; purchased, Tomás Harris, London, 1936 Exhibition HistoryMostra del Caravaggio e dei Caravaggeschi, Palazzo Reale, Milan, 1951
Centenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, October - December 1964
Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Ireland, National Gallery, London, 1985
Master European Paintings form the National Gallery of Ireland, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, 6 June - 9 August 1992; Fine Art Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, 19 September - 6 December 1992; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 13 January - 28 March 1993; IBM Gallery, New York, 27 April - 26 June 1993
European Masterpieces from the National Museum of Ireland, National Gallery, Canberra, 25 June 1994 - 3 October 1994; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Adelaide, 21 October 1994 - 15 January 1995
Orazio Gentileschi at the Court of Charles I, National Gallery, London, 3 March - 23 May 1999; Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, Bilbao, 7 June - 5 September 1999
Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi: Father and Daughter Painters in Baroque Italy, Museo Nazionale del Palazzo Venezia, 15 October 2001 - 6 January 2002; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 14 February - 12 May 2002
Caravaggio: Darkness and Light, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 29 November 2003 - 22 February 2004; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 11 March - 6 June 2004
From Caravaggio to Mattia Preti: The International Caravaggesque Movement, Royal Palace, Milan, 15 October 2005 - 6 February 2006; Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna, 5 March - 9 July 2006
Beyond Caravaggio, The Board of Trustees of the National Gallery (UK), London, 12 October 2016 - 15 January 2017: National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, 17 June - 24 September 2017
Utrecht, Caravaggio and Europe, Centraal Museum, Utrecht, 15 December 2018 - 24 March 2019: Bayerische Staatsgemaldesammlungen, Munich, 16 April 2019 - 21 July 2019
Label TextGentileschi began his career painting in a Mannerist style, but became strongly influenced by Caravaggio’s naturalism when he moved to Rome around 1600. Although he was eight years older than Caravaggio, he became one of his most successful followers. A triumph of composition, this painting displays a tremendous balance of colour. While still containing some Mannerist elements, it reflects Caravaggio’s sense of realism and drama. The painting depicts David, the brave shepherd boy, bringing down the Philistine soldier Goliath with stones in a sling. He then cut off his head.