My name is Lillian Stauffer and for my blog entry I went to the Getty Center in Los Angeles. A piece of art that really captured my attention was a painting by Guido Cagnacci. He is an Italian painter during the Baroque period. He was between the ages of forty-four and forty-nine when he painted David with the Head of Goliath. 

Including the frame, the painting is 52 1/2 x 44 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. The medium used was oil on canvas. The colors are very saturated and rich and there is a high contrast between the darkest shadows and the lightest highlights. The lines in the painting move mainly from the upper left corner to the lower right to emphasize Goliath’s head that is shown with lots of heavy shading. There are also lines moving from the upper right to the lower left to follow the direction of the light. The painting shows David after he has successfully defeated Goliath. He is holding Goliath’s severed head in one hand and his slingshot in the other hand that is pressed to his hip. He is wearing borrowed clothing from a prince that is painted in lush blues. David is posed to convey that he is accepting of his newfound status as a military hero, yet he only has half his face in the light and not looking at the viewer, showing that he is also modest.

This particular painting caught my eye because of it’s rich coloring and the way that the light was used on the subject. I found myself looking at different parts for an extended period of time. I was captivated by the folds in all the fabric, the details in the shadows and highlights, and the realistic look of the pose. The painting made me want to practice my figure drawing, so that I maybe someday render a clothed body as well as Cognacci did in this painting.