Description
David with the Head of Goliath is a late work by Caravaggio, placed by Wikipedia between 1605 and 1610: the young David, bare-chested, grips a sword in his right hand and with his left lifts the severed head of the giant Goliath by the hair, with no trace of triumph in his face. The original, oil on canvas, is 125 cm high and 101 cm wide and hangs in the Galleria Borghese in Rome. Our painter paints it for you by hand in oils on canvas, in 8 portrait sizes from 43 x 53 to 164 x 200 cm or made to measure, and we send you a photograph of the finished painting before it leaves us.
| Title: | David with the Head of Goliath |
| Other titles: | Davide con la testa di Golia · David mit dem Haupt des Goliath |
| Painter: | Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610) |
| Year painted: | c. 1605–1610 |
| Original size: | 125 cm x 101 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Baroque, tenebrism |
| Located at: | Galleria Borghese, Rome, Italy |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
David with the Head of Goliath – Caravaggio
What does David with the Head of Goliath show?
Against a dark ground stands a young man, seen down to the hips. His white shirt has slipped off one shoulder and hangs across his chest, leaving his upper body almost bare, and he wears brown breeches at the waist. Light falls from the left onto his shoulder, his outstretched arm and his face; everything else sinks into black.
In his right hand, held low at his side, is a long sword whose blade flashes diagonally towards the lower edge. His left arm reaches out sideways and holds the giant’s severed head by the hair. Goliath has a dark beard, a half-open mouth and heavy, half-closed eyes.
David does not cheer or strike a pose. He tilts his head and looks sideways at the head in his hand, his brow drawn together. In his face, as Wikipedia puts it, sadness and compassion mingle rather than triumph.
What is the story of David and Goliath?
In the First Book of Samuel, David is a young shepherd who goes out alone against Goliath, a giant in the Philistine army. He brings him down with a stone from his sling and then cuts off his head with the giant’s own sword.
Caravaggio does not paint the fight. He shows the moment after it, when everything is decided and the youth is left alone with the head in his hand. Instead of a bragging victor we see a young man whom the deed weighs down more than it pleases.
Cut into the sword is the abbreviated inscription H-AS OS. It has been read as short for the Latin phrase humilitas occidit superbiam, “humility kills pride”.
Caravaggio shows a severed head with the same restraint in Salome with the Head of John the Baptist, where a young woman holds the platter on which the prophet’s head is laid.
Why is this painting so famous?
Above all because of Goliath’s face. According to Wikipedia, the giant’s head is a self-portrait of Caravaggio: the painter gave the severed head his own features.
The second reason is the light. Only the shoulder, the arm, the face and the blade emerge from total darkness; the rest stays hidden. This is tenebrism, reduced here to two heads and a sword.
Besides the Rome painting there is a version in Vienna and an earlier painting of about 1600 in the Prado in Madrid. You can read more about the Rome version in the English-language Wikipedia article.
Where is the original, and how did it get there?
The original hangs in the Galleria Borghese in Rome under inventory number 455. The canvas measures 125 cm in height and 101 cm in width.
By 1650 the painting was in the collection of Cardinal Scipione Borghese. Its date is still open: some place it as early as 1605, others as late as 1609 or 1610, and more recent scholars lean towards the earlier date.
David with the Head of Goliath or another Caravaggio?
This canvas painting suits anyone more interested in what remains after a fight than in the fight itself. Its upright format suits a study, a library or a hallway.
The same story is told by David and Goliath, but that is a different work: painted around 1600, it belongs to the Prado in Madrid, and there David kneels on the giant’s body and ties the hair of the severed head. The Rome painting is later and quieter.
From the same Roman gallery comes Saint John the Baptist of 1610, in which the young John, in a red cloak, sits in a dark wilderness beside a ram. If you would rather see the moment of the act itself, look at Judith Beheading Holofernes. Our whole range of famous Caravaggio paintings is on the Caravaggio page.
How does our painter paint David with the Head of Goliath?
We begin only once you order. The painter first covers the canvas with a dark ground, then sketches the sword, the outstretched arm and both heads with a fine brush.
Then he builds the colours in several layers, from dark towards light. The skin of David’s chest and shoulder takes a warm, soft tone, the white shirt cooler folds, and the brown breeches almost merge into the background.
This Caravaggio reproduction carries real layers of paint that show under a raking light. An oil painting reproduction of this kind stays quiet in a dim corner, while under a lamp the blade and the boy’s shoulder light up.
Which size suits which wall?
In short: 43 x 53 or 55 x 66 cm above a bedside table, a shelf or between windows, 64 x 76 or 80 x 96 cm for a hallway or study, 90 x 107 or 113 x 146 cm above a sofa or sideboard, and 129 x 160 or 164 x 200 cm for a tall wall or a stairwell.
We paint David with the Head of Goliath in 8 portrait sizes (width x height): 43 x 53, 55 x 66, 64 x 76, 80 x 96, 90 x 107, 113 x 146, 129 x 160 and 164 x 200 cm. The original, 101 cm wide and 125 cm high, falls between two of them: 90 x 107 cm is 11 cm narrower and 18 cm lower, 113 x 146 cm is 12 cm wider and 21 cm taller.
In the smaller sizes both heads stay clear; the larger ones bring out the folds of the shirt and the gleam of the blade. As a painting for the living room it works best at 90 x 107 or 113 x 146 cm above the sofa.
Can I have another size or a frame?
Of course. If you need different proportions, we arrange the composition so that the sword, the arm and Goliath’s head stay whole on the canvas. Send us the width and height you have in mind and we will come back with a price and a delivery time for your David.
David leaves us rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed. Our workshop in Slovenia does the stretching and framing and gets every painting ready for the journey. The moulding is picked in our 3D app, a tool made only for choosing the frame; a preview of David on your own wall is offered as a separate service.
A plain black or dark brown wooden frame suits the dark ground and warm skin tones, and a slim antique-gold moulding gives a more formal look.
When will the painting reach me?
We start as soon as you confirm the order, and David is ready to travel within 15 to 45 working days. Before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished painting; if you want a correction, we make it before packing. Within Slovenia and the rest of the EU there are no customs charges, and every order is covered by our returns policy.
The painting is a thoughtful gift for someone called David or for a lover of Rome who knows the Galleria Borghese. Not sure which size their wall can take? Give a wall art voucher instead, and the recipient picks the size of David with the Head of Goliath themselves.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see the original?
In the Galleria Borghese in Rome, which holds this canvas by Caravaggio.
Whose face does Goliath’s head have?
According to Wikipedia it is a self-portrait: Caravaggio gave the giant his own features.
Is it a print or a real painting?
It is a hand-painted copy, made by our painter with brush and oil paints on canvas.
How big is the original?
It is 125 cm high and 101 cm wide; our nearest size is 90 x 107 cm.
What does the inscription on the sword mean?
The letters H-AS OS are read as humilitas occidit superbiam, “humility kills pride”.
Is it the same painting as David and Goliath in the Prado?
No. The Madrid painting dates from about 1600 and shows David kneeling; the Rome one is later.
Can David be painted in a size outside the list?
Yes. Send us the width and height, and we will tell you the price and the date.
How long does it take?
Between 15 and 45 working days, and you see David in a photograph before he is sent.
- Subject: the young, bare-chested David holds a sword in his right hand and lifts the severed head of Goliath by the hair with his left, against a black ground.
- Original: c. 1605–1610, oil on canvas, 125 x 101 cm, Galleria Borghese, Rome.
- Ours: painted by hand in oils on canvas, in 8 portrait sizes from 43 x 53 to 164 x 200 cm or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: Goliath’s head is a self-portrait of Caravaggio.
