Caravaggio David and the Head of Goliath (Vienna) Analysis

Modeling

The varying tones of color used in David and Goliath give the piece substantial depth and intricate detail. There are shifts in the color tones throughout David's body, creating depth and a realistic depiction of skin pigmentation. For instance, David's chest area has differing color variations that define muscle and bone structure. By his shoulders, the darker colors outline the muscle. The colors used shift between a pale yellow to a pinkish peach. For instance, his hands appear pinker than near his forearm, and his chest has yellowish, orange hues. These variations depend on how the light source would reflect on the skin. The light comes from the left of the subject, casting light on David's face, forearm, and shoulder. Since his shoulder receives most of the casted light source, the color is significantly lighter than areas that would not receive light, like his armpit. Of course, the shades of the colors used to pick shadows vary, as seen by the shadow cast by the sword fades as it moves down towards his chest. In addition, the folds of the cloth shift between a monochrome palette of whites and greys. The top part of a fold is shaded in white because it receives the most light, and the crimps are in varying shades of grey depending on how far it is from the light source.

Chiaroscuro

Chiaroscuro is a painting style that uses strong contrasts between lights and darks. This painting is an embodiment of this technique. The light source comes from the left side of the painting. The areas painted with the brightest highlights are the right side of David's forearm, bicep, and shoulder. When it comes to the shadows, the intensity of the darks depends on where the light source hits. For instance, the shadows on the underside of David's forearm are significantly lighter than his armpit. Although the shading and lighting are the main components in the contrast of this piece, the small white highlights bring it all together. The specific highlights are small but are the brightest. Those highlights are the whites on the sword, David's eye and nose, and Goliathe's nose and tooth. These highlights are the cherry on top by bringing a sense of completion into the piece and adding to the contrast.

Oil Technique

Caravaggio achieves vibrant colors and lights through his oil technique and distinct textures. Typically, contour lines can model a figure and their elements. However, most artists hide their contour lines to make the figures look more human. Artists could use the sfumato to conceal the contour lines by gradually blending the colors and tones, but it can create hazy effects while muddying the colors. Caravaggio does not use this technique, yet still outlines his subjects through the intense lights and darks. While doing that, he can also create different textures. For instance, David's skin looks like skin because he uses more than one color to achieve the specific pigmentation skin has. This pigmentation would include using a variety of blends of yellows, oranges, and pinks. There is also a clear distinction between David's skin and his clothes. The fabric is painted differently compared to David's skin and gives the effect that it is slightly translucent. Near David's left hip, the shading effectively translates that the white fabric is thin. There are hints of the hues used for David's skin, accurately portraying how his skin would show through the thin cloth.

Summary Paragraph

This painting is called David with the Head of Goliath (Vienna), painted by Caravaggio in 1600-1601. The medium is oil on wood, as seen by the immense detail achieved through variations of colors and textures. The detail in the shading of the skin and clothing cannot be achieved typically through tempura due to how fast it dries. Since oils do not bond chemically with their surface, the artist can apply more detail to a piece. Within this artwork, Caravaggio's craftsmanship in his use of chiaroscuro and tenebrism makes a dignified mark on his style. Compared to other artists who use similar techniques, Caravaggio's execution is distinctive because of his supreme control over the lights and darks in his work. The aspects that make this piece identifiable to Carravagio's work are his technical skills in tenebrism and chiaroscuro. Tenebrism is the technique of using a dark background to illuminate the subjects in a piece. Chiaroscuro is the treatment of shadows and light. In this painting, the combined uses of tenebrism and chiaroscuro give the appearance of a spotlight shining on David. With a lighter background, this effect would be unachievable. The use of intense shading and highlights would backfire. If one were to look at Caravaggio's other pieces, it is clear that he has mastered his skills with chiaroscuro and tenebrism. With extreme contrast and exquisite detail in his oil technique, Caravaggio is a prime example of the use of this chiaroscuro. Leonardo Di Vinci is known for inventing sfumato, gradually blending tones and shades and softening outlines. While the invention of this technique was a significant movement in the art world, it often created a hazy and cloudy effect and muddied the colors. Among Caravaggio's work, his use of tenebrism framed his subjects while simultaneously having soft contour lines. For instance, in David with the Head of Goliath, even with the harsh contrast and dark shadows, David looks like he belongs in his environment. Caravaggio has so much control over the oils he uses he maintains total unity without sacrificing the vibrant colors. Caravaggio's David with the Head of Goliath reflects his understanding of oil technique, tenebrism, and chiaroscuro. His precise control over varying textures and grasp of how light affects them gives him the title of mastery of these techniques.

Foreshortening

Caravaggio demonstrates his technical skills in several ways in this painting. One of the ways he does this is through foreshortening, a technique of line manipulation by shortening components to make the object look like it is projecting forward, as seen by David's hand holding the head of Goliath. The arms cannot be directly proportional because it would look out of place and unnatural. Caravaggio achieved this illusion by shortening David's arms. The compression of the arms achieves the specific look the arms posed would look like in that particular angle. In addition, David's right arm goes towards the background, and the forearm foreshortens to create a sense of depth. The notable size difference between David's hands is a part of the illusion of creating depth. Even though both hands are in the foreground, David's right hand is going toward the background. The foreshortening compresses his forearm, making his hand appear larger.

Composition

The arrangement of this piece includes a balanced use of negative and positive space. At first glance, the eyes draw towards the intense highlights on the subject. This point of attention starts at the left of the piece on David's forearm. The sword then takes the viewer's eyes to David's face. From there, the eyes shift downward through David's left arm to Goliath's head. In consensus, the composition forms a triangle. The three points are David's forearm, the head of Goliath, and David's head at the top of the triangle. There is significance in the use of the triangle as a unifier for the subject in this piece. It is not only mathematical, but a triangle is a sturdy shape to use and used in most religious pieces like this one.

Tenebrism

Caravaggio's use of a black background, also known as Tenebrism, illuminates the intricate highlights throughout the piece by bringing high contrast. The dark background plays a more significant role in this piece than one would think. Typically, this technique is to achieve high contrast within a piece, but the way Caravaggio uses it makes it look like a spotlight is pointing right at David. Of course, the background is not just one shade of black. The color varies based on the placement of the light source. For instance, in between the head of Goliath and David's left hip, the background is significantly darker than in other areas. Even the area to the left of Goliath is lighter, even though the light source comes from the left side of the painting. The reason for this is to create the illusion of depth. Since Goliath's head projects to the foreground towards the viewer, that darker area represents the gap between the head and David's body. The other use tenebrism brings to this painting is that it outlines the figures, making them stick out and giving the illusion of three-dimensionality.