03 — ARTWORK
David with the Head of Goliath
- MEDIUM
- Bronze with oil gilding of later date, height 29 cm
- TYPE
- Religious
PALETTE
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- FILE
- 1600 × 1223 px · JPEG
COMMENTARY
UNDERLINED TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE GLOSSARY.
Bartolommeo Bellano executed a number of small metal figures for Pope Paul II and for others, and he has been recognized as one of the earliest Italian sculptors to make a speciality of bronzeAn alloy of copper (usually about 90 per cent) and tin, often also containing small amounts of other metals such as lead or zinc. Since antiquity it has been the metal most commonly used in cast sculpture because of its strength, durability, and the fact that it is easily workable - both hot and cold - by a variety of processes. It is easier to cast than copper because it has a lower melting-point, and its great tensile strength makes possible the protrusion of unsupported parts - an advantage over marble sculpture. The colour of bronze is affected by the proportion of tin or other metals present, varying from silverish to a rich, coppery red, and its surface beauty can be enhanced when it acquires a patina. statuettes. The present work is one of Bellano's masterpieces in bronze. Its debt to <a onclick="return OpenOther('/html/d/donatell/1_early/david/2david1.html')" href="/html/d/donatell/1_early/david/2david1.html">Donatello's David</a> is reflected in the hero's pose with hip swung out and one arm akimbo and the gigantic head of Goliath at his feet.
A number of later versions testify to the continuing esteem in which this sculpture was held well into the sixteenth century.
CITE THIS RECORD — BIBTEX
@online{wga-ra3e0796f062ee9,
author = {Krén, Emil and Marx, Daniel},
title = {David with the Head of Goliath by BELLANO, Bartolommeo},
organization = {{Web Gallery of Art}},
date = {2026-09-13},
url = {https://beta.wga.hu/artists/bellano-bartolommeo-r6266f5c18bcb97/david-with-the-head-of-goliath-ra3e0796f062ee9},
urldate = {2026-09-13},
langid = {english}
}ACCESSED 2026-09-13. REPLACE THE AUTHOR FIELD WITH THE COMMENTARY AUTHOR WHERE ONE IS NAMED.
