Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009220Samson
About the Artwork
The Old Testament hero Samson rests his head on his hand in a pensive, even melancholic pose. Objects on the table recall two of his heroic deeds: he killed a lion with his bare hands, and liberated the Israelites by slaughtering a thousand Philistines with a donkey’s jawbone. Samson’s cuirass, or breastplate, is joined at the shoulder by a clasp in the form of two bees—the emblem of the Barberini family, who commissioned the painting around 1630. In 1627, the Barberini had engaged Valentin to paint another biblical hero, David victorious with the head of Goliath; the canvas depicting Samson was designed to be its pendant.
Provenance
1972–present: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio probably 1921–1947: Edoardo Almagià [b. 1928], Rome, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art probably 1921–1947: Probably Roberto Almagià [1883-1947], by descent to his son, Edoardo Almagià. c. 1899–1921: Ing. Dr. Edoardo Almagià [b. 1841], Rome, by descent to his son Roberto Almagià, or grandson, Edoardo Almagià. 1899: (Galleria Sangiorgi, Rome, Sciarra sale, March 28, 1899, fifth sale, no. 363, sold to Edoardo Almagià). 1812–1899: Colonna di Sciarra family, Rome. 1631–1812: Cardinals Francesco [1597–1679] and Antonio Barberini [1607–1671], by inheritance within the Barberini family, Rome.
Exhibition history
Year in Review: 1972. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 27-March 18, 1973). Masterpieces of European Painting from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Frick Collection, New York, NY (organizer) (November 8, 2006-January 28, 2007). Masterpieces of European Painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, Beachwood, OH (March 29-July 8, 2007). Valentin de Boulogne: Beyond Caravaggio. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (October 4, 2016-January 22, 2017); Musée du Louvre, Paris, France (February 22-May 22, 2017). La mirabil congiuntura': Urbano VIII, i Barberini, le arti, la cultura. Palazzo Barberini, Rome, Italy (organizer) (March 15-July 30, 2023).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Valentin de Boulogne (French, 1591–1632)
- Date
- 1630–31
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 157 x 125 x 7 cm (61 13/16 x 49 3/16 x 2 3/4 in.); Unframed: 135.6 x 102.8 cm (53 3/8 x 40 1/2 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
- Accession no.
- 1972.50
More by Valentin de Boulogne in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00009220
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