Art Institute of Chicago

Samson and Delilah

Hans Brosamer

Date

1545

Medium

Engraving in black on ivory laid paper

Culture

Germany

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

In another portrayal of the dangerous power of women, here Brosamer depicted the biblical scene of Delilah betraying Samson. This engraving is similar in scale to the artist’s nearby Phyllis and Aristotle (1923.203), and the two works may have been conceived as a pair. Renowned for his strength, Samson unwisely shared the source of his power—his hair—with his lover, the treacherous Delilah. While the Bible verses (Judges 16: 17–18) specify that Samson will lose his strength when his hair is shaved off, here Deliliah uses a more feminine tool, scissors.

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