Samson and Delilah

Peter Paul Rubens’s Samson and Delilah portrays a tragedy of love and betrayal. Delilah, Samson’s lover, has been bribed to discover the secret of Samson’s supernatural strength. Rubens shows the moment when Delilah tells an accomplice to cut his hair, leaving him powerless. Outside, soldiers wait to capture him.

But maybe Delilah will pay for her treachery. The profile of the old woman behind her is a striking but withered likeness of her own, perhaps suggesting that she will one day lose the beauty that was Samson’s downfall.

During a visit to Italy, Rubens had seen Caravaggio’s experiments in the use of highly contrasting light and shade, and deep, rich colour. On his return, he used these new techniques to paint Samson and Delilah, commissioned by his friend and patron, Nicolaas II Rockox, the mayor of Antwerp, for his private collection.

Samson and Delilah is an oil on wood painting measuring 185 × 205 cm and long attributed to the Flemish Baroque artist Peter Paul Rubens in the National Gallery, London. It dates from about 1609 to 1610. Two preliminary copies of the painting exist today: an ink-and-wash drawing on paper, and an oil sketch on wood panel. The oil sketch is in the Cincinnati Art Museum, while the ink sketch is held by a private collection in Amsterdam.