Samson and Delilah
Hans Burgkmair (German, 1473–1531)
1519
- Medium
- woodcut
- Classification
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 12.1 x 9.7 cm (4 3/4 x 3 13/16 in.)
- Culture
- Germany
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Prints
- Credit line
- L. E. Holden Fund
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Teens profiles and older: its museum says too little about what it shows to place it for younger viewers. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
Samson was a man of immense strength and a Nazarite, an Israelite who took a pious oath not to cut his hair or drink alcohol. Bribed by the Philistines (enemies of the Israelites), Delilah—Samson’s lover—cut his hair after discovering that it was the source of his strength. In Hans Brosamer’s rendition, Samson has fallen asleep on Delilah’s lap as she cuts his hair while the Philistines enter. A large chalice and ewer nearby reveal the role of wine in his slumber. Hans Burgkmair similarly emphasized the importance of wine to the plot with a single beaker. The story was popular in Protestant northern Europe, where it was understood as a cautionary tale about the dangers of temptation and neglecting one’s spiritual commitments.
