David with the head of Goliath

Art Historical Context

In the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, *David with the Head of* (ca. 1515–16) stands as a masterful collaboration between Raphael, the High Renaissance genius from Urbino, and engraver Marcantonio Raim. This intimate etching with engraving, measuring just 4 5/8 x 3 3/8 inches, captures the biblical hero David triumphantly holding Goliath's severed head—a potent symbol of underdog victory and divine favor from the Old Testament. Raphael's design exemplifies the Renaissance ideal of harmonious anatomy and expressive nobility, while Raimondi's precise technique transl...

About the Artist

Marcantonio Raimondi|Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi) · 1475–1534

Marcantonio Raimondi (c. 1480–1534), born near Bologna, Italy, emerged as one of the Renaissance's premier engravers, revolutionizing printmaking through his mastery of reproductive techniques. He trained in the workshop of the goldsmith, painter, and niellist Francesco Francia, whose influence is evident in his early engravings, such as the goldsmith-like shading in *Pyramus and Thisbe* (1505), h...