Samson and Delilah

Jan Lievens, c. 1626 - c. 1627

Delilah seduced Samson into telling her the secret of his superhuman strength, the source of which lay in his long hair. Lievens painted Samson asleep on Delilah’s lap. She hands a pair of scissors to the frightened man so that he can cut off Samson’s hair. In their early years, Lievens and Rembrandt – who shared a workshop – regularly looked at one another’s work. Rembrandt’s influence can be discerned in the expressive rendering of the faces.

  • Artwork typepainting
  • Object numberSK-A-1627
  • Dimensionssupport: height 131 cm x width 111.5 cm, outer size: depth 8 cm (support incl. SK-L-4365)
  • Physical characteristicsoil on canvas

Identification

  • Title(s)

    Samson and Delilah

  • Object type

  • Object number

    SK-A-1627

  • Description

    Simson en Delila. Simson is op de schoot van Delila in slaapgevallen. Delila reikt een verschrikt kijkende Filistijn een schaar aan.

  • Inscriptions / marks

    • signature, with monogram, upper left: ‘IL’
    • signature and date, upper right (formerly, false): ‘Rembrandt f 1633’
  • Part of catalogue


Creation

  • Creation

    painter: Jan Lievens

  • Dating

    c. 1626 - c. 1627

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Material and technique

  • Physical description

    oil on canvas

  • Dimensions

    • support: height 131 cm x width 111.5 cm
    • outer size: depth 8 cm (support incl. SK-L-4365)

This work is about

  • Subject


Acquisition and rights

  • Acquisition

    purchase 1895-05

  • Copyright

  • Provenance

    ...; from the dealer John St. Hensé, Bradford, fl. 400, to the museum, May 1895{NHA, ARS, Kop., inv. 290, p. 143, no. 1281 (27 April 1895), pp. 144-45, no. 1284 (29 April 1895), pp. 145-46, no. 1286 (14 May 1895).}


Documentation

    • Madlyn Kahr, 'Rembrandt and Delilah', Art Bulletin 55 (1973), p. 240-245.
    • Bernhard Schnackenburg, 'Jan Lievens und Pieter de Grebber', Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch 68 (2007), 207-208.

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