DRESSED TO KILL

2014, Oil on Italian Linen, 60 x 50cm

In classical art so many warriors are depicted going into battle wearing little but a helmet. One might think that when your opponent is waving a pointy stick at you, this may be counter-intuitive. 

The partial nudity of Bernini’s David’s is explained by the argument that he actually did have armour which was shed as he was unaccustomed to it and believed he could fight better without it. Which might come across as presumptuous, except by all accounts he was pretty successful in this case. 

Contemporary accounts don’t go into much detail about his hair. But he seems to have had very nice curls.