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San Diego City College

David with Head of Goliath

Antonio de Bellis

The San Diego Museum of Art

David Prieto

Art Fine Art 111

Dr. Martina Hesser

02 November 2020
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Even though there are hundreds if not thousands of artworks in museums all across the

San Diego area, choosing only one was difficult. After an extensive web search across various

museum websites, I finally was able to make up my mind and choose a particular museum and

artwork. Even though it was particularly difficult to navigate and choose a specific artwork, the

painting artwork that captured my eyes the most was the Baroque painting, ​David with Head of

Goliath​ by Antonio de Bellis located at The San Diego Museum of Art. Although it was very

difficult for me to navigate my way across the chaotic websites, I knew in my head that I wanted

to choose an artwork related to European art due to their rich history. After observing numerous

pieces of art, I ultimately chose this because it combined two of my biggest interests, European

history and Baroque painting style. I was ultimately able to find this piece of art under the

exhibition of European Art from the 1300 to 1800s. During this specific time period which was

also known as the Early Medieval era to the Renaissance and Baroque period, there was an

increasing reinterest in the values, customs and ideals which was known as the Classical Period.

Due to these reinterests, the artist, Antonio de Bellis made this masterpiece.

In this lovely 50 x 38 in. Italian piece of art, the painter, Antonio de Bellis, uses a

Baroque art style. He uses rich deep colors, great dramatic scenes and an intense contrasting light

and dark shadows to convey his moral message. This piece of work was special to de Bellis due

to the fact that he was often influenced by the work of Caravaggio which inspired him to make

realistic elements and dramatic lighting which was classical to the 17th century. Antonio de

Bellis was able to capture one of the most important biblical scenes in art through the use of
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realism and contrasting light and dark shadows with the help of oil pastels which he displayed

onto a framed canvas which now remains in The San Diego Museum of Art.

Before we can learn about the art painting, ​David with Head of Goliath, ​we first must

learn about the painter, Antonio de Bellis. Antonio de Bellis was an Italian painter from Naples

who was active in the Baroque period until his death in 1656. Although he was born in the year

1616 and was not alive during the years of Caravaggio, Antonio de Bellis was one of the few

major artists from Naples who was “Under the influence of Caravaggio”1. Antonio de Bellis

mainly worked in his native city of Naples, Italy, where he had a formidable naturalistic style

deeply influenced by his master and teacher, Massimo Stanzione. Although much is not really

known about this Italian artist, we know that Antonio de Bellis was best known for his work

from ​The Life of St. Carlo Borromeo​ located at San Carlo alle Mortelle in Naples. Unfortunately

this was the latest piece of art we saw from Antonio de Bellis as he died in the second plague

pandemic which struck Naples and killed half of its inhabitants, totalling 150,000 casualties.

After knowing Antonio de Bellis’ artistic style and influence, it is easier for the viewer to

understand why he depicted the figures in the painting, ​David with Head of Goliath. ​In this

painting, the painter depicts a religious biblical story, in which it depicts the young David after

the slaying and beheading the giant, Goliath. In the artwork, we can see how realistic the

painting is by the blood pouring out of the giant's neck while David is laying the head on the

table next to his sword. The author shows us the immense details of how he shows the young

David with rich deep colors and contrasting light and dark shadows. In the artwork, the painter

tries to lead the viewer's attention to the bottom left corner. We can tell this because every

1
Fredericksen, Burton B., and Federico Zeri. ​Census of Pre-Nineteenth-Century Italian Paintings in North
American Public Collections​. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1972.
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important aspect of the painting is in that corner. In the very bottom, we are able to see Goliath's

head. Next to that, we see the sword that David used to behead the giant. On top of those two key

concepts, we see the fairly muscular arm which was used to behead Goliath. The moral of the

story of what the artist is trying to convey is of how underdogs can overcome the odds and be

successful. He shows David as a not so big and strong adolescent compared to the big and

powerful Goliath by the size of the head. In this artwork, the painter is able to show us the story

with great details of the aftermath of the “Underdog against the odds”2. Antonio de Bellis used

different types of techniques to perfectly portray his message.

The painter, Antonio de Bellis used a very impressive style technique and various colors

​ he most notable technique he used was Chiaroscuro

which means the treatment of light and shade in drawing. This technique was most notably used

by Caravaggio who was a great influence in the life of Antonio de Bellis which helped him to be

able to achieve a “Sense of volume in modeling 3 dimensional objects or figures”3. Along with

this style of art, de Bellis also used deep colors to create this artwork. Artists from the 17th

century often tended to choose from a rich and vibrant selection of colors. One example of this is

seen on the red cape of David. This rich color was used to evoke textures and give the paintings a

touchable quality. Due to the deep colors and intense light and dark shadows, this is considered a

Baroque painting.

In conclusion, after finally choosing and completing my art painting research, I can say

that although art is not one of my strongest or most favorable subjects, it was intriguing learning

2
S
​ chütze Sebastian, and Thomas C. Willette. “De Bellis.” Essay. In Massimo Stanzione:
L'opera Completa​, 296–296. Napoli: Electa, 1992. 96.
3
​Whitfield, Clovis, and Jane Martineau. “Antonio De Bellis.” Essay. In ​Painting in
Naples: from Caravaggio to Giordano: ,​ 149–151. London: Royal Academy of Arts, 1982.
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and studying the various types of art available to viewers like myself. After experiencing many

struggles of: navigating through the chaotic museum websites, choosing a specific piece of art

and finding sources, I was able to learn something new thanks to Antonio de Bellis’ effort. I was

glad to be able to find some sources which helped me explain this Baroque painting which

captured my attention since the beginning of the project. In ​David with Head of Goliath, ​Antonio

de Bellis uses rich deep colors, great dramatic scenes and an intense contrasting light and dark

shadows to convey his story. Antonio de Bellis was a talented painter who was able to capture

great scenes with much detail after mastering certain skills which helped him become a

pronounced painter.
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Bibliography

Fredericksen, Burton B., and Federico Zeri. ​Census of Pre-Nineteenth-Century Italian

Paintings in North American Public Collections.​ Cambridge: Harvard University Press,

1972.

Schütze Sebastian, and Thomas C. Willette. “De Bellis.” Essay. In Massimo Stanzione:

L'opera Completa,​ 296–296. Napoli: Electa, 1992.

Whitfield, Clovis, and Jane Martineau. “Antonio De Bellis.” Essay. In ​Painting in Naples:

from Caravaggio to Giordano: ,​ 149–151. London: Royal Academy of Arts, 1982.