The Triumph of David

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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A fantastic procession winds its way through a Tuscan landscape dotted with hills and walled towns. Extravagantly dressed nobles ride prancing horses, while their hounds, a hunting cheetah and even a bear trot along beside them.

Although it looks like medieval Italy, this actually shows a biblical event: David’s triumphant return to Jerusalem after killing the giant Goliath, an enemy of Israel. He stands proudly on a horse-drawn cart, holding Goliath’s head by the hair.

This long and detailed painting was probably once set into the panelling of a room, maybe above a chest or a seat. At the right a young man and a woman greet each other outside the walls of a city – this might be a betrothal, and the panel was possibly made to celebrate a marriage.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

The Triumph of David

Date

about 1445-55

Medium

Tempera on wood

Measurements

H 43.3 x W 177 cm

Accession number

NG6580

Acquisition method

Bought with the assistance of The Art Fund and a number of gifts in wills, 2000

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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