A visual Journey into the Bible - Theartofpainting.be

The Deuteronomy Page: 36 / 334Samson and DelilahSamson and DelilahSir Anthony van Dyck (1589-1641). The Trustees of Dulwich Gallery – London.1618-1620.When Samson had been a Judge of Israel for twenty years, he fell in love with awoman of the Vale of Sorek called Delilah.The Philistines came to see her. They asked her to find out where Samson’s strengthcame from. In return for telling them they promised to pay her eleven hundred silvershekels. Delilah pestered on Samson day after day and kept nagging at him. Samsonat first made a fool of her and always gave her another untrue story on his strength,which Delilah then tested out. But in the end he gave up and told Delilah that if hishair were shorn, he would lose his strength. He told her he was a nazirite and that anazirite should not be shorn. Delilah knew that this was the true reason for Samson’sstrength then. She went to the Philistines and asked for the money. She lulled Samsonto sleep, called a man and had him cut off Samson’s seven locks of hair. Thus shebroke the strength of Samson. The Philistines could now seize him, put out his eyesand take him to Gaza where they fettered him with a double chain of bronze.Many paintings were made of this tragedy that spoke to the imagination of many biblereaders and the theme was particularly popular in the baroque seventeenth century.In Sir Anthony van Dyck’s ‘Samson and Delilah’, we see Samson sleeping inDelilah’s lap. A Philistine barber shears off Samson’s nazirite hair. Delilah offers herlover’s neck to the barber but she urges the man to be deft and silent. Delilah holdsher left arm up in fright and caution, and raises of finger to silence the barber. On theleft, Philistine soldiers hide behind a column, still afraid of Samson’s strength, butsoon preparing to bind him and take him away as their prisoner. On the right side ofthe canvas, two women – one elder, a procuress, and one younger – watch overDelilah’s shoulder. The younger one is in awe and surprise. She is all nervous tension.The older woman however is mainly curious, but determined. She eagerly watchesevery slight movement of the barber, as if guiding his hand. This is the old schemerthat may have convinced Delilah to take the money. Now she makes sure the work iswell done. Van Dyck situated the scene in an open loggia, so a patch of the blue skyappears in the upper part of the picture. Delilah lies on a couch and we see a heavy,rich brocaded gold and black bedspread down beneath.Sir Anthony van Dyck used an example of Pieter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), namely a‘Samson and Delilah’ painted by his master around 1609. Van Dyck would often, alsoin his later periods, use examples of other great painters such as Rubens or titian, ascompositions for his pictures. Many times then he would invert the scene. In Ruben’spicture Delilah lies on the left; van Dyck situated her to the right. Rubens also letSamson sleep in Delilah’s lap. We can excuse van Dyck having used Rubens’Copyright: René Dewil Date: October 2001