How you can use this image
This image can be used for non-commercial research or private study purposes, and other UK exceptions to copyright permitted to users based in the United Kingdom under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised. Any other type of use will need to be cleared with the rights holder(s).
Review the copyright credit lines that are located underneath the image, as these indicate who manages the copyright (©) within the artwork, and the photographic rights within the image.
The collection that owns the artwork may have more information on their own website about permitted uses and image licensing options.
Review our guidance pages which explain how you can reuse images, how to credit an image and how to find images in the public domain or with a Creative Commons licence available.
Buy a print or image licence
You can purchase this reproduction
If you have any products in your basket we recommend that you complete your purchase from Art UK before you leave our site to avoid losing your purchases.
Notes
Add or edit a note on this artwork that only you can see. You can find notes again by going to the ‘Notes’ section of your account.
In the centre we see David, in pink, swinging his sling, taking aim at the armoured Goliath, whose forehead is already bleeding. In the foreground David beheads the fallen giant. The complex composition is linked by the stream: it flows from left to right, in and out of the panel, joining the most important incidents.
The painting, together with its pair also in the National Gallery’s collection, were doubtless made to commemorate a marriage, possibly of a member of the Medici, the ruling family of fifteenth-century Florence.
Title
The Story of David and Goliath
Date
about 1445-55
Medium
Tempera on wood
Measurements
H 45.5 x W 179.2 cm
Accession number
NG6579
Acquisition method
Bought with the assistance of The Art Fund and a number of gifts in wills, 2000
Work type
Painting
The National Gallery, London
Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England
-
The Annunciation The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust) -
Angel (Left Hand) The National Gallery, London -
The Story of David and Goliath The National Gallery, London -
The Trinity The National Gallery, London -
The Triumph of David The National Gallery, London -
Angel (Right Hand) The National Gallery, London -
Saints Zeno and Jerome The National Gallery, London - 4 more
