Samson: Heroes and Heroines from the Old Testament

Samson is depicted as a muscular, larger-than-life figure in a powerful contrapposto stance within an oval frame. He holds his makeshift weapon while looking back over his shoulder; in the background, the valley is littered with the bodies of his defeated enemies. The engraving features the characteristic swelling and tapering lines of the Haarlem Mannerists, emphasizing the hero's dynamic physical energy.

This print illustrates the late 16th-century synthesis of biblical narrative with Neoplatonic ideals of the 'Heroic Furor' (divine madness), casting Samson as a Christianized Hercules. It reflects the Haarlem Mannerists' interest in using the idealized human body to represent the influx of divine power and 'Prisca virtus' (ancient virtue) into the material world.