David with the head of Goliath

Judith Leyster painted David with the Head of Goliath around 1633, a biblical subject rendered in the Caravaggesque tradition of a single illuminated figure holding the trophy of their victory. The subject was one of the most popular in the Caravaggesque tradition — Caravaggio himself, then Reni and Orazio Gentileschi all treated it — and Leyster's treatment shows her engagement with this tradition despite her location in Haarlem rather than Rome or Naples. Her David is youthful and somewhat uncertain rather than triumphant, the victory achieved but the full weight of its meaning not yet understood — a psychological nuance that distinguishes her treatment from the more conventional celebration of heroic achievement.

The vigorous brushwork and dramatic lighting reveal Hals's influence on Leyster's technique, with David's triumphant expression and the grotesque severed head creating a powerful dramatic contrast.