David and Goliath in Art: Four Famous Works and What They Choose to Show

Short answer: Artists have painted, carved and engraved David and Goliath for more than 500 years. The best known are Caravaggio’s David with the Head of Goliath (Galleria Borghese, Rome, about 1609-10), Michelangelo’s marble David (Florence, 1501-04), Gustave Doré’s 1866 engraving David Slays Goliath, and Andrea del Castagno’s painted parade shield (National Gallery of Art, Washington, about 1450-55). Each one picks a different moment of the story, and that choice is what makes them different.

The story itself is short, and it is told in 1 Samuel 17. Here is the part artists keep returning to, in the King James Version:

“Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.” (1 Samuel 17:45)

“So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.” (1 Samuel 17:50)

A champion “whose height was six cubits and a span” (1 Samuel 17:4), and a shepherd with a sling. It is easy to see why artists want to draw it. The whole story is a difference in scale.

1. Caravaggio, David with the Head of Goliath (about 1609-10)

Caravaggio painted this near the end of his life, and it hangs in the Galleria Borghese in Rome. It shows the moment after the fight: David holding up Goliath’s severed head out of a dark background. Most scholars read Goliath’s face as a self-portrait, and some also see a younger Caravaggio in David, though critics do not all agree on that second point. The painting is traditionally said to have been sent to Cardinal Scipione Borghese as part of a plea for a pardon.

What it chooses to show: the cost of winning. David does not look triumphant.

2. Michelangelo, David (1501-04)

Michelangelo’s David is a marble statue in Florence, well over four metres tall. It is a sculpture rather than a painting, but it is the first image many people think of. It shows David before the fight, tense and watchful, with the sling over his shoulder.

What it chooses to show: the moment before. The decision has been made and nothing has happened yet.

3. Gustave Doré, David Slays Goliath (1866)

Doré made it as one of a large series of wood engravings for an illustrated edition of the Bible published in 1866. Doré’s Bible illustrations were reproduced widely and shaped how many people pictured scenes from scripture for a long time afterward. This one shows the battle itself, in the crowded, dramatic style he is known for.

What it chooses to show: the event, as a scene you could watch.

4. Andrea del Castagno, the David shield (about 1450-55)

This is the most unusual of the four: a parade shield, painted in tempera on leather over wood, now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington. It was made to be carried in a procession and was not built for combat. Its Biblical subject set it apart from the heraldic designs usual on such shields.

What it chooses to show: David as a symbol. Someone chose to carry him into public view.

Why artists keep coming back to it

Look at what the four have in common. In none of them is the story really about the fight. It is about a person who looks too small and does not act as if they are. That is why the scene has lasted: nothing about it needs explaining to someone standing in front of it.

A quieter version, for a home

I made my own David and Goliath thinking about that scale. In it a small figure with a sling stands at the edge of the picture, and the giant rises out of mist above him with a spear and shield. There is very little else on the page: soft cream paper, grey-brown figures, and a line from Psalm 144, a psalm of David, about God training his hands for battle. Nothing is shown of the fight itself. You see only the difference in size, and you already know how the story ends.

It comes in three forms:

• Framed canvas: David and Goliath framed canvas, dark wood frame, ready to hang, free US shipping.
• Fine art print: David and Goliath fine art print, printed on museum-grade archival paper.
• Printable: David and Goliath printable, an instant download you can print at home or at a local print shop.

If you want the story first, read the story of David and Goliath and what it means for your home. To see more paintings of Bible stories, browse the Christian Art collection.

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