David with the Head of Goliath
ArtistCaravaggio
Year1610
MediumOil on canvas
LocationGalleria Borghese, Rome
About David with the Head of Goliath
Caravaggio painted his own face on Goliaths severed head. He was a wanted man, fleeing a murder charge. David looks at the head with pity, not triumph. Some scholars see it as a plea for a papal pardon. Caravaggio died months later, the pardon arriving too late.
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