#7435 • 18th C. "David With the Head of Goliath" Painting

Part of Collection of the de Medici Royal Family (timed auction by GWS Auctions)

Starting at $1.00

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Est. $600,000-$750,000 Domenico Fetti Attributed 18th C. "David With the Head of Goliath" Original Oil on Canvas Painting - This iconic painting is an 18th century, original oil on canvas painting of "David With the Head of Goliath". This painting can be attributed to Domenico Fetti, who created the original piece in addition to some copies thereafter. The original painting is in the Royal Collection of the United Kingdom in Windsor Castle, and there are also versions at Staatliche Kunstsammlungen and Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden, among others. It is suggested that Fetti painted the piece around 1620, before the artist moving to Venice in 1622. This painting was likely one of the copies created by the artist himself, or someone who was close to him. The piece depicts the story of David and Goliath as recounted in the first Book of Samuel, 17:48-51. The shepherd boy David defeats Goliath, the champion of the Philistines, in single combat using a sling with a stone, and cuts off Goliath's head using the giant's own sword. Fetti cleverly contrasts the large scale of the decapitated head and sword with David's smaller body. The painting measures approx. 60" x 47.5". Domenico Fetti (Italian; 1589-1623) was an Italian Baroque painter. Having been trained in Rome by the Florentine painter, Lodovico Cigoli, he worked at the court of Mantua from around 1613 and towards the end of his life spent some time in Venice. His principal patron was Duke Ferdinando Gonzaga at Mantua and it was with the purchase of the Gonzaga collection in 1625-27 that Charles I acquired a number of works by Fetti. The artist was influenced by Venetian painters, as well as by Elsheimer and Rubens. The artists technique is distinctive, with rapid brushstrokes of pure color applied as highlights over broader areas of paint on canvases primed with dark tones. Similarly, the poses of his figures and the choice of viewpoints are often unusual. Fetti's works can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Louvre, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, among others.