David with the Head of Goliath

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The young Jewish hero David is depicted with a sling in his hand as he lays the head of the giant Goliath on a stone block.

The author of the picture is still unknown. Stylistically it is very close to the Venetian painting of the late Cinquecento and early Seicento, especially as regards the depiction of the clothing and the type of the figure. However, there are also indications of a dependence on the painting of the Seicento in Emilia; certain elements suggest that this painting might have originated in Ferrara. Alberto Rizzi formulated the hypothesis that the painter might be Costanzo Catani of Ferrara (1602–1627), but this idea cannot be substantiated by closer comparisons, although it is still the most probable of all suggestions made so far.

Artist Anonymous

Year of creation (17th cent.)

Technique oil, canvas

Dimensions 102 x 93 cm

Inventory number NG S 2127, National Gallery of Slovenia, Ljubljana

Collection 1600–1700

Preservation: Good. The canvas has been cut on all four sides.
Restored: 1992, Kemal Selmanović.
Provenance: Unknown. FCC(?); after World War II in Marshal Tito’s residence at Brdo Castle near Kranj; 1986 entrusted to the Narodna galerija by the Government of Slovenia.
Exhibitions: 1960, Ljubljana, No. 8; 1993, Ljubljana, No. 15.
Lit.: Cevc 1960, p. 19, Cat. No. 8, Fig. 4 (Venetian, 16C); Rizzi 1970, p. 234 (17C); Rizzi 1972, p. 132 (Francesco Costanzo Catanio ?); Zeri and Rozman 1993, p. 135, Cat. No. 15, Fig. 28.