Samson and Delilah
1545
Medium
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image/plate: 8 × 9.7 cm (3 3/16 × 3 7/8 in.); Sheet: 8.4 × 10 cm (3 5/16 × 3 15/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
80765
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
In another portrayal of the dangerous power of women, here Brosamer depicted the biblical scene of Delilah betraying Samson. This engraving is similar in scale to the artist’s nearby Phyllis and Aristotle (1923.203), and the two works may have been conceived as a pair. Renowned for his strength, Samson unwisely shared the source of his power—his hair—with his lover, the treacherous Delilah. While the Bible verses (Judges 16: 17–18) specify that Samson will lose his strength when his hair is shav...