(Alessandria c. 1585 - after 1635)
David and Goliath,
oil on canvas, 143.5 x 109 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private European Collection

Literature:
A. Morandotti, Giuseppe Vermiglio, naturalista accademico e diligente, in: Percorsi Caravaggeschi tra Roma e Piemonte, ed. by G. Romano, Turin, 1999, pp. 239–272, p. 265, n. 144; pl. 86
L. Damiani Cabrini, in: Giuseppe Vermiglio. Un pittore caravaggesco tra Roma e Lombardia, ed. by D. Pescarmona, exh. cat., Milan, 2000, pp. 120/21, no. 20

Exhibited:
Giuseppe Vermiglio, Un pittore caravaggesco tra Roma e Lombardia, exh. cat., Campione d’Italia, 10 September – 3 December 2000, no. 20

The present painting stands out for its use of chiaroscuro and the clear influence of the painterly tradition of Caravaggio.
The light source, located in the left area of the picture, sets the left side of David’s torso against the shadow. The protagonist’s facial features and anatomy are prominently emphasised. Other conspicuous features are the detailed treatment of surface textures, the elaborately decorated handle of the sword, which could have been manufactured in a Milan-based armoury, and the blood on the blade. The meticulously rendered ochre coloured coat, which appears to be made of silk, attests to the painter’s familiarity with contemporary Lombard painting.

Apart from the present work, the Piedmontese artist Giuseppe Vermiglio dealt with this popular subject in a further version (now in a private collection). Although the compositions of both versions are almost identical, the different handling of light and change in several details suggest that they were executed at different periods.

It is unknown which of the two versions of David and Goliath was painted first. Damiani Cabrini assumes that both of them were made after the artist’s departure from Rome and return to his native Lombardy (see literature). Vermiglio is documented to have been in Rome between 1604 and 1621, where he was influenced by the work of Caravaggio together with a group of other Lombard painters. Apart from the two versions mentioned above, two further variants of the subject are known (Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan; private collection). This was most likely due to the demand among Milanese patrons, who frequently asked artists to reproduce successful compositions.

Little is known about Giuseppe Vermiglio’s life but he is known to have spent the first two decades of the 17th century in Rome, where he is recorded as being a student of Adriano di Monteleone. He is also said to have worked as an art dealer. Around 1620 he finally returned to Northern Italy. His work was created under the impact of Caravaggio’s art, while he was also influenced by Annibale Carracci and Guido Reni.