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Samson and Delilah is a painting long attributed to the Flemish Baroque artist Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) in the National Gallery, London. It dates from about 1609 to 1610. Two preliminary copies of the painting exist today: an ink-and-wash drawing on paper, and an oil sketch on wood panel.
Peter Paul Rubens’s Samson and Delilah portrays a tragedy of love and betrayal. According to the Old Testament, Samson, a Jewish hero blessed with superhuman strength, killed a thousand Philistine soldiers with the jawbone of a donkey.
In this masterpiece of Biblical art, Rubens shows a sleeping Samson lying in the arms of Delilah, the woman he loves, having his hair cut by a servant in order to drain his strength. In the background, Philistine soldiers are waiting to pounce as soon as their target has been weakened.
Oct 20, 2022 · Samson and Delilah (1609–1610) by Peter Paul Rubens. Oil on panel. 185 × 205 cm. National Gallery, London, UK. Image source Wikimedia Commons. This compelling painting, by the Flemish artist...
After returning to his hometown of Antwerp, Rubens was commissioned by Nicolaas Rockox, the burgomaster, or mayor, to make a large painting of Samson and Delilah. For a politician, this...
Samson and Delilah. c. 1609. Oil on wood, 185 x 205 cm. National Gallery, London. In 1608 Rubens hastily returned home to Antwerp after an absence of eight years in Italy, in a vain attempt to reach the bedside of his dying mother.
Peter Paul Rubens’s Samson and Delilah portrays a tragedy of love and betrayal. Delilah, Samson’s lover, has been bribed to discover the secret of Samson’s supernatural strength. Rubens shows the moment when Delilah tells an accomplice to cut his hair, leaving him powerless.
