David and Goliath

Reni's David wears a red hat with a feather and leans on a column. He has set the head on a stone block, holds it by the hair and looks at it, more curious than triumphant.

Reni had just come to Rome from Bologna and had seen Caravaggio's pictures. He takes the dark ground and the hard light from him and keeps his own elegance: the pose is that of an antique statue at rest.