Belgium: ‘Samson and Delilah'. Oil on wood painting by Peter Paul Rubens (28 June 1577 - 30 May 1640), c. 1609-1610. In the classic tale from the Hebrew Bible, or Christian Old Testament, Samson is an Israelite of great physical strength. He confides in his lover, Delilah, that the secret of his strength is his long hair, which has never been cut since the day he was born. Delilah—perhaps one of history’s first ‘femmes fatales’—betrays Samson by informing his enemies. In this famous scene, Samson is asleep in the lap of his mistress who urges two accomplices to cut Samson’s hair.


Size: 6000px × 5431px
Photo credit: © Pictures From History / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 1609, 1610, 17th, art, arts, asia, asian, belgian, belgium, betrayal, bible, century, christian, christianity, delilah, east, eastern, fatale, femme, flemish, hair, haircut, hebrew, historical, history, image, images, israel, israelite, jew, jewish, judaism, lover, middle, mistress, mythology, painting, pictures, religion, rubens, samson, scissors, soldier, strength, testament