8David With The Head Of Goliath (Room VIII)

David with the Head of Goliath – things to see in the Borghese Gallery
The figure David is often the subject of works of art due to his importance in biblical history. This particular version by Caravaggio shows David beheading Goliath as he looks down in triumph. Caravaggio painted his own likeness in the face of Goliath, which was the seed of many theories about the meaning behind this work. Many of Caravaggio’s paintings are extremely sexual in nature and this one is no exception. Notice the placement of the boy’s sword in his crotch. Some believe the boy is the likeness of “Cecco” who was a studio assistant and possibly a lover of Caravaggio. Others believe that David is also a self-portrait of Caravaggio, and so the painting displays a younger and older version of Caravaggio.

However, the most popular explanation by tour guides is that the painting was a gift for Pope Paul V. Caravaggio killed a man in a bar fight a few years early and fled Rome. He had been on the run for some time with a death sentence on his head. He may have painted it as a gift to Paul V when he was granted a pardon. Unfortunately, he never returned to Rome. Caravaggio, plagued with illness due to his lifestyle, died on his return in 1610. This was one of his last paintings.

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