Delilah

Copied David Aronson, Delilah, 1961, bronze, 23 5813 3414 12 in. (60.034.836.9 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of David Aronson, 1966.74.2

Artwork Details

Title
Delilah
Date
1961
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
23 5813 3414 12 in. (60.034.836.9 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of David Aronson
Mediums
Mediums Description
bronze
Classifications
Keywords
  • Religion — Old Testament — Delilah
Object Number
1966.74.2

Artwork Description

According to the Old Testament, Samson was a powerful Jewish leader who fell in love with the Philistine princess Delilah. When she found that the source of Samson’s strength was his uncut hair, she betrayed him to Philistine soldiers, who cut his locks, gouged out his eyes, and put him on display. David Aronson chose to represent the two figures as they were after Delilah’s betrayal. The faces and postures of Aronson’s roughly modeled, abstract figures express the violence and tragedy of the scene.