Terms and Conditions
The artist, title and date of the work must be listed anywhere the image is reproduced:
Johan Joseph Zoffany
David with the head of Goliath 1756
oil on canvas
92.2 × 74.7 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased with the assistance of the Isabella Mary Curnick Bequest and The Art Foundation of Victoria, 1994
Photo: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Where possible, the image must be reproduced in full (no cropping or over-printing). If you wish to use a detail of the work, a full reproduction of the work must also be reproduced elsewhere in the publication.
While the NGV believes this work to be in the Public Domain, it is the responsibility of the publisher to ensure that no further permissions are required for use.
For a complete list of terms and condition of use see the National Gallery of Victoria’s copyright policy.
David with the head of Goliath
1756
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
92.2 × 74.7 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased with the assistance of the Isabella Mary Curnick Bequest and The Art Foundation of Victoria, 1994
Gallery location
17th & 18th Century Decorative Arts & Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
Johan Zoffany was twenty-three years old and towards the end of his first stay in Rome when he painted this bold and innovative depiction of the biblical hero David, having just slain the Philistine Goliath (1 Sam. 17:50). Zoffany here depicts a young and beautiful David wearing a sheepskin hat at a rakish angle. This strong emphasis on David’s physical beauty has precedents in earlier interpretations of this subject by Donatello, Caravaggio, Guido Reni and others. It has also been suggested that the young painter – anxious to prove his skills – conceived this work as an ambitious challenge to the old masters.
Frame: reproduction, 1994
Artwork Details
Inscription
inscribed (diagonally) in brown and yellow paint c.l.: 1756 I: Zauffalÿ inv. et pinx.
Accession Number
IC1-1994
Department
International Painting
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Dame Carol Colburn-Grigor CBE through Metal Manufactures Limited
Subjects (general)
Human Figures Religion and Mythology
Subjects (specific)
David, King of Israel (Old Testament character) Goliath (Old Testament character) heads (animal components) men (male humans) self-portraits slings (projectile weapons) victories youth (people)
Provenance
Sale, Dessins et Tableaux Anciens, Gersaint, Pavillon Josephine, Strasbourg, 17 November 1989, no. 265, David et Goliath attributed to Anton Raphael Mengs (1728–79 from which purchased by Richard L. Feigen, New York with Richard L. Feigen, New York until 1994 from whom acquired by the NGV with the assistance of the Isabella Mary Curnick Bequest and The Art Foundation of Victoria, 1994.
Frame
Reproduction, 1994
Frame
Zoffany Self-portrait as David with the head of Goliath, 1756, arrived from New York after purchase in 1994, fitted with an eighteenth century English carved timber frame. (above)
The impetus to reframe the painting came at the time of purchase.
The initial proposal was for an original mid-eighteenth century Italian Salvator Rosa frame.
A quote was sought for a replica of the frame (top) which was received in March 1995 and fitted to the painting.
Frame Details
Framemaker
Reproduction - commissioned by the NGV
Date
1994
Materials
carved timber and gold leaf