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Date : approx. between 1609 and 1610
Sizes : 2.05 m x 1.85 m
Material : Oil painting on wood
Acquisition : Purchase (1980)
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Flemish and Northern Painting
Painting
Area related
Antwerp / Antwerpen (Belgium)
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| Description |  |
This painting was commissioned by Nicolaas Rockox, alderman of Antwerp, for his town house in 1609-10.
Rubens captures the dramatic moment of betrayal in the Old Testament story of Samson and Delilah. The Jewish hero has fallen in love with the Philistine beauty. Delilah knows that the source of Samson's superhuman strength is his hair that has never been cut. Bribed by the Philistines she seduces him, and has his hair cut as he sleeps.
The dramatic lighting and powerful musculature of the sleeping Samson reflect Rubens's new knowledge of antique and Renaissance art. The same model Rubens used for Delilah appears wearing the same dress but in a different pose as the central woman defending her infant in "The Massacre of the Innocents" (hanging nearby).
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