April 2026

Andrea Mantegna, Samson and Delilah c.1500, glue size on linen, 47 x 36.8cm, National Gallery

In this painting the Old Testament Israelite hero Samson has his hair cut by his lover Delilah.  The secret of Samson's superhuman strength lay in the fact that he had never cut his hair, a secret he eventually revealed to Delilah who belonged to the Philistines, Israel's enemy.  Holding the shears in her right hand, Delilah has got about half way through her job.  Behind them is a hedge, hanging with lemon-like fruit.  Next to Samson's feet a small fountain pours a thin stream of water into a tomb-like tub, perhaps a reference his death.  Water is often also used as a symbol of life and therefore of Christ.  Samson in his turn was also seen as His forerunner.  The vine, with clusters of heavy grapes wrapped around the tree, is a symbol of His life-giving blood.  By painting his figures in monochrome grey against a vibrantly coloured background Mantegna was deliberately imitating ancient Roman relief sculptures.  In particular his style seems to refer to cameo carving in precious stones.  The figures and the tree even cast a shadow against the marble background.  Mantegna collected these cameos himself and was renowned as an expert on them.  It was probably painted as one in a series, now lost or dispersed, depicting different women from the Old Testament.  By the way, Delilah was often used as an epitome of female duplicity because she handed Samson over to be executed; we could also, however, applaud her courage in taking on a sleeping superhero in this way and giving him what looks very like a mullet.