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In David with the Head of Goliath, Caravaggio gave Goliath's severed head his own face. He painted it after fleeing Rome in 1606 under a death sentence for killing Ranuccio Tomassoni. The Galleria Borghese in Rome identifies the head as a self-portrait; David, unusually, looks at it with sadness rather than triumph.

Caravaggio / Galleria Borghese

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The Galleria Borghese dates the painting to 1606–07 or 1609–10; scholars disagree, but the museum places it after Caravaggio's flight. Tomassoni died after a brawl, and the sentence meant the painter could be killed on sight within the Papal States. Caravaggio moved between Naples, Malta and Sicily. The canvas went to Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the pope's nephew, who could help obtain a pardon, and the museum reads it as a gift meant to win forgiveness: an interpretation, not a documented fact. The letters H·AS O S on David's sword are read as humilitas occidit superbiam, 'humility kills pride', a phrase linked to Saint Augustine. Caravaggio died in 1610 while travelling back towards Rome, as a pardon was being prepared.

Türkçe oku
Caravaggio, Davut'u Golyat'ın kesik başıyla gösterdiği tablosunda Golyat'a kendi yüzünü verdi. Tabloyu, Ranuccio Tomassoni'yi öldürdüğü için ölüm cezasına çarptırılıp 1606'da Roma'dan kaçtıktan sonra yaptı. Roma'daki Galleria Borghese başı ressamın otoportresi sayar; Davut da alışılmışın aksine başa zaferle değil, hüzünle bakar.

Galleria Borghese tabloyu 1606-07 ya da 1609-10 yıllarına tarihlendiriyor; uzmanlar bu konuda anlaşamıyor, ama müzeye göre eser Caravaggio'nun kaçışından sonra yapıldı. Tomassoni bir kavgada aldığı yarayla ölmüştü; verilen ceza, ressamın Papalık topraklarında görüldüğü yerde öldürülebileceği anlamına geliyordu. Caravaggio Napoli, Malta ve Sicilya arasında dolaştı. Tablo, papanın yeğeni ve affını sağlayabilecek biri olan Kardinal Scipione Borghese'ye ulaştı. Müze eseri bağışlanmak için gönderilmiş bir hediye olarak yorumluyor; bu bir yorum, belgelenmiş bir gerçek değil. Davut'un kılıcındaki H·AS O S harfleri, Aziz Augustinus'la ilişkilendirilen humilitas occidit superbiam, yani “tevazu kibri öldürür” sözünün kısaltması olarak okunuyor. Caravaggio, affı hazırlanırken Roma'ya dönüş yolunda, 1610'da öldü.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: David with the Head of Goliath (Caravaggio, Rome)
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