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David with the Head of Goliath by Andrea Mantegna

Full artwork / 1503 x 1994 px

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Early RenaissanceSP / MANTEGNA-DAV

David with the Head of Goliath

Andrea Mantegna

David stands over Goliath's body and presents the severed head within a fictive stone relief whose pale figures contrast with a veined amber ground.

Living Canvas / Visual evidence

David with the Head of Goliath by Andrea Mantegna: Meaning, Symbols and Visual Analysis

Five regions connect David, sword, severed head, fallen body and relief-like surface to a victory image that deliberately blurs painting and sculpture.

Date
c. 1490-1495
Palette
David with the Head of Goliath by Andrea Mantegna
Evidence 01 / Visual analysis1.30x
01 / 05

What remains debated

Evidence has limits.

KHM currently lists the work as attributed to Andrea Mantegna, so the page should not convert attribution into certainty. The relief-like visual effect is observable; identifying the exact material tradition it evokes requires comparison beyond the image alone.

Questions about this painting

Meaning without a thin page

What should I look at first in David with the Head of Goliath?

Begin with david is posed like a carved victor, then compare it with the sword fixes victory to a visible instrument and goliath's head hangs as a separate trophy. The sequence moves from visible structure toward interpretation.

What does David with the Head of Goliath mean?

KHM currently lists the work as attributed to Andrea Mantegna, so the page should not convert attribution into certainty. The relief-like visual effect is observable; identifying the exact material tradition it evokes requires comparison beyond the image alone.

Verify / 02

Verify the object record

Titles, dates, media, dimensions, institutional identifiers and retained sources remain separate from interpretation so each fact can be checked independently.

Record completeness

Research ready

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Primary title
David with the Head of Goliath
Original title
David mit dem Haupt des Goliath
Creator
Andrea Mantegna
Date
c. 1490-1495
Movement
Early Renaissance
Object type
Painting
Published material
Canvas
Paint binder
Not published by the holding institution
Dimensions
49 × 36 × 2 cm; lower-right corner trimmed; framed 67.5 × 55 × 7.5 cm
Holding institution
Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna
Current location
Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Gemaldegalerie
Accession number
Gemaldegalerie, 1965
Credit line
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemaldegalerie
Attribution
Attributed to Andrea Mantegna
Digital image
1503 × 1994 px

Compare / 03

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same subject

David with the Head of Goliath

Caravaggio · c. 1600-1601

Triumph, violence and the presentation of Goliath's head

Mantegna's relief-like victor and Caravaggio's dark psychological encounter transform the same biblical aftermath through opposed material and emotional systems.

Compare this pair

Learn / 04

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Analyze this paintingElements of artComposition guideReligious ArtDavid and Goliathbiblical artreligious artillusionvictoryEarly Renaissance

Historical significance

Why this work still matters

The work strengthens the biblical cluster while making material illusion central: a painted surface asks to be read as sculpture, stone and flesh at the same time.

Detail coordinates

Look more closely

  1. 01Follow the sword from David's hand toward the lower left.
  2. 02Compare the suspended head with the foreshortened body below.
  3. 03Inspect how the pale figures appear carved against the amber ground.

Reuse / 05

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