bible characters

Bible Characters

David

Michelangelo. David. 1501-1504. Marble. Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence, Italy.

'And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward' (1 Samuel 16:13).

Titian. David and Goliath. Oil on canvas. 1540s. Santa Maria della Salute, Venice, Italy

Caravaggio. David with the Head of Goliath. c.1601-1602.Oil on canvas. Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain

At the age of 18 David was admitted to king Saul's entourage as a musician. The main concern of the king was the war with the Philistines, among whom fought the giant Goliath. David asked Saul's permission to fight Goliath. David killed Goliath with a stone thrown from his sling and then beheaded him with Goliath's own sword

Rembrandt. David Presenting the Head of Goliath to King Saul. Detail. 1627. Oil on wood. Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

Rembrandt. David Playing the Harp before Saul. c. 1656. Oil on canvas. Mauritshuis, the Hague, Netherlands.

After this victory, Saul made David a military commander and began to give him many serious and dangerous tasks. Saul was jealous and afraid of David's popularity, youth, strength, cleverness and hoped that during some of the battles he would be killed.

Rembrandt. Departing of David and Jonathan. 1642. Oil on panel. The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Meanwhile David found sympathy and support in Saul's own family: the friendship with Saul's son Jonathan lasted till the death of the latter.....After several attempts on his life, David fled to Samuel, where Saul did not dare arrest him.

Count Feodor Tolstoy. David Refuses to Kill Sleeping Saul. 1806. Whitewash, ink on brown paper. The Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia. (He refused to take advantage of the situation.)

Jean Fouquet. Report of Saul's Death to David. c. 1470. Miniature from the Les Antiquites judaiques. Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Paris, Franc

After Saul's death David became the king and unified his kingdom by capturing Jerusalem. He made it his capital, constructed the royal palace there. He is considered to be a great musician of the time and the author of the Book of Psalms.
David had many wives, the most important of them were: Michal, daughter of Saul; Abigal, who was able to calm David's anger.

Hans Memling. Bathsheba. c. 1482. Oil on panel. Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, Germany

Bathsheba, the beautiful wife of Uriah, was taking a bath, when King David saw her and fell in love. He organized Uriah to be killed and married Bathsheba. Their first son died, that was God's punishment, but their second son, Solomon, became the most famous King of Jews after David's death.

Ferdinand Bol. David's Dying Charge to Solomon. 1643. Oil on canvas. National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.

Nikolay Gay. The Judgment of King Solomon. 1854. Oil on canvas. The Museum of Russian Art, Kiev, Ukraine.