The Death of Samson (Main View)

Blinded and shackled to the columns of the Philistines' temple for public display and ridicule, the Israelite warrior Samson avenged himself by bringing the building down around him and on the heads of his tormentors (Judges 16:21–31). His previously shorn hair, the source of his extraordinary strength, had grown back, returning his power and allowing him to kill more Philistines in death than during his lifetime. Through this immense feat of physical strength, Samson singlehandedly delivered Israel from her enemies. This complex, chaotic composition was intended to be viewed from below, contributing to the sense of the downward movement of the figures tumbling through space. The artist based Samson’s muscular, twisting body on a fragmentary ancient sculpture, the Belvedere Torso, which was frequently referenced in the work of Renaissance artists, including Michelangelo.

Though the painting was originally acquired as a work painted by Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640) during his first years in Italy, this attribution has since been ruled out on stylistic grounds. The elongated faces and tightly controlled brushwork instead might suggest a Genoese creator, perhaps Vincenzo Malò (Italian, about 1605–about 1660) or Giovanni Battista Merano (Italian, 1632–1698)