The Triumph of David

On the basis of its powerful light and shadow effects, this drawing may be dated at the 1630s, and is a sketch for the painting Guercino painted for Cardinal Colonna. On the sketch, David, who has defeated Goliath in combat, is celebrated by female figures playing music and dancing. The artist was paid in December 1636 and in the following August for the picture now in the Burghley House Collection, Standford (Great Britain).

Szilvia Bodnár