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Claude Vignon's David With The Head Of Goliath

Decent Essays

The art piece created by Claude Vignon , “David with the Head of Goliath” has three important elements that are vital towards the piece in order to portray a message of power and authority. Which are the focal point, proportions, and the contrast of this particular piece. The artwork is oil on canvas that was made around in 1593-1670. The subject matter of the artwork is depicting the moment of pride David had with the head of the giant Goliath being laid next to his small body. The portrait of David is seen on the viewers middle left side, while the head of Goliath is in the middle right side next to David’s. David is seen wearing clothes that appear to be a size to big on him, to the point where the shirt is slipping from his shoulder (exposing his left shoulder). The clothes themselves are interpreted as royal clothing, having a big headpiece located in the top half of the painting. With the exposed shoulder being leaned forward on, in his left hand David holds a silver sword that is seen to to take …show more content…

In the painting it is evident that Goliath's head is ⅔ of David’s body alone. Leaving it up to the viewers imagination to show how big he was compared to this small boy David. The shaping of the bodies were made to be slightly different. The shape size of David's body was smaller to that of Goliath. As well as the form. While David has a body considered small and scrawny, Goliath's head alone the viewer was able to see his form had muscle and he was a bulky man. This element has shaped the artists message in allowing for the difference between David who is portrayed as small and weak, and Goliath who is depicted as a giant who was most likely powerful physically. Thus, allowing the reader to further the admiration of what David had done, which was best this giant although him being a scrawny young

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