Carl Bloch - Samson and the Philistines [1863]

Carl Bloch - Samson and the Philistines [1863], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

With Samson and the Philistines, painted in Rome in 1863, Bloch (1834 - 1890) entered the Danish art scene in earnest. With his virtuoso technique and narrative devices such as the way we as spectators are drawn into the scene, and the sheer concentrated action of the piece he brought Danish art on a par with contemporary European history painting. Art history has reproached Bloch for his pronounced use of theatrical effects.

Samson was followed by several similar pictures, which brought Bloch great recognition, carving him a reputation among his contemporaries as Denmark’s greatest painter. Bloch’s principal work is the series of 23 paintings with scenes from the New Testament that the brewer J.C. Jacobsen (1811-1887) of Carlsberg fame commissioned in 1865 as decorations for King Christian IV’s (1577-1648) prayer seat in Frederiksborg Chapel.