Continuing with my Classical Reinterpretation series, next we have the painting David with the Head of Goliath by Caravaggio.
Michelangelo da Caravaggio was a Baroque painter from Italy who lived between 1571 - 1610 and was at one time regarded as the most famous painter in Rome. He was a controversial indiviual who often found himself in trouble with the law for brawling, that eventually led to the accidental death of a young man in Rome. Following the murder, he fled to Malta where he became the painter for the Grand Master of the Order of Malta before once again facing charges for brawling. Escaping imprisonment, he went into exile on Sicily, where he remained for a time before returning to Italy to recieve a pardon. Shortly later he died of unknown causes in Tuscany. Historians believe he might've been assassinated by members of the Order of Malta, or died from lead poisoning, as lead salt was a prominent ingredient in paints at the time.
Despite his turbulent lifestyle, Caravaggio helped redifine the use of chiaroscuro, a dramatic transition from light to dark values with little middle-ground. This element can be seen in all of his works.
The painting David with the Head of Goliath was painted in 1610 with oil. The painting depicts the classic Biblical character David holding the head of Goliath after defeating the Philistine near the Valley of Elah. In regards to a Christian perspective, the story of David and Goliath has also come to symbolize Jesus's victory over sin on the cross, and the victory of the Christian Church over Satan.
Today, the painting is on display at the Galleria Borghese in Rome, Italy.
And here is my intrepretation of the painting:
I was really happy with how this image turned out. Even though it's simple, it's one of my favourites from the series.
The role of David is played by Aaron, who I actually found through kijiji. I placed an ad looking for models, and he replied and came out from Toronto one night to shoot and did an excellent job. It's really funny thinking back on that shoot, because Aaron was this shy guy who hadn't modelled much before, and he was super chill and humble. Today, he's jacked, and a professional model. He's shot a number of harlequin romance novel covers and modelled for fashion spreads, and he's no longer that shy guy who was nervous in front of the camera. So congrats to him!
This was actually a really simple shoot, there wasn't much to Aaron's shoot except getting him in the right pose and in costume. Goliath came later, and was portrayed by my friend Dan, who was in the same program as me at school and who fit Goliath perfectly (it's the beard). I did a simple shot of his head, cut it out and, tah-dah, decapitation.
Tomorrow, I'll be posting about Girl with a Pearl Earring.
If you're interested in seeing the other photos in this series, you can find them here.
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And, you can check out my debut novel, The Children of Gods and Monsters, in the Amazon store here.
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