Date
1835
Object Type
Painting
Subject
Old Testament Subject: David and Abigail
Holding institution
Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera. On long-term loan to the Camera dei Deputati, Rome, since 1927
About The Work
As a student at the Accademia di Brera from 1818, Carlo Bellosio first found success in 1824, winning the prize for figure drawing with Carlo d’Angiò fa scoprire il volto di Manfredi. He later secured the Gran Premio di Pittura in 1828 with a biblical scene, Sacrificio di Noè dopo il diluvio (both works are held at the Accademia di Brera, Milano). In 1835, Bellosio returned to the Milanese competitions to tackle a subject from the Old Testament: David che trattiene il compagno Abisail (1 Samuel 26: 7-11). The episode depicts a midnight incursion into the tent of King Saul, who lies in a deep slumber, vulnerable to a vengeance only averted by David’s intervention. For this commission, the competition brief specifically recommended consulting Augustin Calmet’s Dictionnaire historique, critique […] de la Bible (1730, I. 19).
While attending Pelagio Palagi’s private school in Milan, Bellosio refined his command of composition and draughtsmanship. He developed a sophisticated approach to historical and antiquarian reconstruction, ensuring his settings remained strictly faithful to literary sources. However, a significant aspect of his work was his mastery of the notturno, a genre he first explored in Argia e Antigone for the Bologna Academy (1829) and revisited with great success in his David e Abisail (see Nenci 2005. 240). The work was deemed prize-worthy for its “grand style” and the superb rendering of Saul’s recumbent torso, with contemporary critics particularly praising the artist's virtuosity in capturing “the great effect of artificial light”.
While attending Pelagio Palagi’s private school in Milan, Bellosio refined his command of composition and draughtsmanship. He developed a sophisticated approach to historical and antiquarian reconstruction, ensuring his settings remained strictly faithful to literary sources. However, a significant aspect of his work was his mastery of the notturno, a genre he first explored in Argia e Antigone for the Bologna Academy (1829) and revisited with great success in his David e Abisail (see Nenci 2005. 240). The work was deemed prize-worthy for its “grand style” and the superb rendering of Saul’s recumbent torso, with contemporary critics particularly praising the artist's virtuosity in capturing “the great effect of artificial light”.
Title
David che trattiene il braccio del compagno Abigail in atto di trafiggere re Saul nel sonno
Creator
Carlo Bellosio
Subject
Old Testament Subject: David and Abigail
Object Type
Painting
Original Function
Competitions and artistic fellowships (Grande Concorso di Pittura, 1835)
Date
1835
Technique / Support
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
cm 183 x 252
Acquisition
Acquired as the winning piece of the Grande Concorso di Pittura competition in 1835
Holding institution
Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera. On long-term loan to the Camera dei Deputati, Rome, since 1927
Inventory number
Reg. 1943, 5
Bibliography
Colle, Enrico. Entry no. 79. In Pinacoteca di Brera. Dipinti dell’Ottocento e del Novecento. Collezioni dell’Accademia e della Pinacoteca, vol. 1, Musei e Gallerie di Milano, edited by Fernando Mazzocca. Milano: Mondadori Electa, 1993. 83–84, ill.
Nenci, Chiara. Entry no. II.19. In Romantici e Macchiaioli. Giuseppe Mazzini e la grande pittura europea, exhibition catalogue (Genova, Palazzo Ducale, 21 October 2005–12 February 2006), edited by Fernando Mazzocca. Milano: Skira, 2005. 240, ill. 85.
Nenci, Chiara. Entry no. II.19. In Romantici e Macchiaioli. Giuseppe Mazzini e la grande pittura europea, exhibition catalogue (Genova, Palazzo Ducale, 21 October 2005–12 February 2006), edited by Fernando Mazzocca. Milano: Skira, 2005. 240, ill. 85.
Conservation status
Fair
Restoration history
Conservation work carried out in 2000 by L'Officina Consorzio -
Restauro Conservazione Opere d'Arte, Roma
Supervisory Authority: Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Metropolitan City of Milan
Internal scientific director: Brera Academy of Fine Arts, Chiara Nenci
Technical director / Qualified restorer: L'Officina Consorzio -
Restauro Conservazione Opere d'Arte, Roma
Restauro Conservazione Opere d'Arte, Roma
Supervisory Authority: Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Metropolitan City of Milan
Internal scientific director: Brera Academy of Fine Arts, Chiara Nenci
Technical director / Qualified restorer: L'Officina Consorzio -
Restauro Conservazione Opere d'Arte, Roma
Unique identifier
0300663536