Samson and Delilah

Gerrit van Honthorst painted ‘Samson and Delilah’ around c. 1616. It shows the biblical moment when Delilah cuts Samson’s hair, robbing him of his strength. Oil on canvas, currently in the Cleveland Museum of Art.

The scene is lit with a warm, artificial glow, characteristic of Honthorst’s style. His use of light was influenced by Caravaggio, whom he studied during his time in Rome.

Honthorst painted this in his early career, before he became well-known for his portraits in the Netherlands. He was part of the Utrecht Caravaggisti group.

Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, https://clevelandart.org/art/1968.23