David standing with crossed legs and holding the head of Goliath on a pedestal at left, a sword on the ground, after Reni
ca. 1635–1670
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet (Trimmed): 9 1/8 × 6 1/8 in. (23.2 × 15.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1951
Accession Number
51.501.4579
Tags
Art Historical Context
This engraving captures the triumphant biblical hero David, standing with crossed legs as he holds the severed head of Goliath atop a pedestal, his sword discarded on the ground nearby. Created after a design by the renowned Italian Baroque painter Guido Reni, the print was executed by engravers Giacomo Piccini and Stefano Scolari between roughly 1635 and 1670. Reni’s elegant, classically inspired figures lent themselves beautifully to reproduction, allowing this dramatic moment from the story of David and Goliath to reach wider audiences beyond the original painting or drawing. As an engravi...
About the Artist
Guido Reni|Giacomo Piccini|Stefano Scolari · 1575–1642
Guido Reni (1575–1642) was one of the most celebrated Italian painters of the Baroque era and the dominant figure of the Bolognese School. Born into a family of musicians in Bologna, he trained first with Denys Calvaert before joining the influential Accademia degli Incamminati led by Ludovico Carracci. Reni achieved international fame through his idealizing style that combined Baroque dynamism wi...