David with the Head of Goliath

David is the figure from the Old Testament who defeated the giant Philistine warrior, Goliath. In renaissance Florence, the story of David was a symbol of the political strength of the city and a prominent and recurring motif for artists of the time. This painting was actually gift for the powerful Cardinal Borghese and legend says that Caravaggio painted his own likeness as the face of Goliath. It is said that Caravaggio was begging for mercy to be pardoned for a murder he committed. Apparently the gift worked, and his violent crime was pardoned.