David with the Head of Goliath
Andrea del Castagno·c. 1450/1455
Historical Context
Andrea del Castagno painted this David with the Head of Goliath around 1450-55 on a leather shield, one of the most original works of the early Florentine Renaissance. The painting on a ceremonial shield format connects to the civic tradition of Florence, where David symbolized the republic's triumph over tyranny. Castagno's powerful, muscular figure style and bold foreshortening made him one of the most innovative painters of the mid-Quattrocento.
Technical Analysis
The unusual support of tempera on leather on wood creates a surface that conforms to the shield's curved shape. Castagno's dynamic figure of David in mid-stride demonstrates his mastery of anatomy and movement, with bold contours and strong modeling that anticipate Verrocchio and the young Leonardo.
Provenance
Purchased, probably in Italy, in 1852 (for 6 Pounds, 13 shillings)[1] by William Drury-Lowe [1802-1877], Locko Park, Derbyshire;[2] by inheritance to his son, William Drury Nathaniel Drury-Lowe [d. 1906], Locko Park; by inheritance to his son, William Drury Drury-Lowe [d. 1916], Locko Park;[3] Captain Hanbury, by November 1912; purchased by (Thomas Agnew & Sons, Ltd., London); (Arthur J. Sulley & Co., London);[4] sold 13 January 1913 to Peter A.B. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania;[5] inheritance from Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; gift 1942 to NGA. [1] See Richard Calvocoressi, "Locko Park. An Important Family Collection," _Connoisseur_ 192 (June 1976): 141. [2] See W.D.N. Drury-Lowe's preface in Jean Paul Richter, _Catalogue of Pictures at Locko Park_, London, 1901, as well as John Cornforth, "Locko Park, Derbyshire - II," _Country Life_ (12 June 1969): 1506-1507, where a stay of William Drury-Lowe in Italy in 1852-1853 is mentioned. See also _Dictionary of Art_, ed. Jane Turner, 34 vols., London, 1996: G:306. [3] See the introduction by George Hughes-Hartman in _Nottingham University Art Gallery. Pictures from Locko Park, Derbyshire. Illustrated Catalogue_, Notthingham, 1968: n.p. [4] As explained by G. Hughes-Hartman (in a letter of 12 February 1991, in NGA curatorial files) to Rolf Bagemihl, "Captain Hanbury [probably]...was an impecunious gentleman rather than a dealer, acting as an intermediary." According to a copy of a letter of 2 November 1920 from Thomas Agnew & Sons concerning the sale of Locko Park pictures (this also supplied by Mr. Hughes-Hartman), the shield now in the NGA "was bought by us from Captain Hanbury in November 1912 for 2,000 Pounds and delivered to Messrs. Sulley in the same month." The letter adds that, "as is usually the case when we purchase pictures from private individuals," copies were made free of charge also of the paintings coming from Locko Park. The copy of the shield is still there today. [5] Widener collection records and letters from Sulley to Bernard Berenson (copies in NGA curatorial files). A letter of 15 January 1913 informs Berenson that the shield has been acquired by P.A.B. Widener. See also David Alan Brown, "Berenson's Contribution to Scholarship, Taste, and Collecting," in _Berenson and the Connoisseurship of Italian Painting_, exh. cat., National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1979: 21.
