David

The Biblical story of David and Goliath, illustrated by an example of the work of the Bolognese painter Guido Reni. Reni's reputation was once considerable, but suffered after being savaged by the English art critic John Ruskin. Influenced by Caravaggio and the Carracci school of painting, Reni's work has now returned to favour.

King of the Hebrews 1004-965 BC. He became king of Judah on the death of King Saul at Mount Gilboa in 1004 BC, then king of Israel in 997 BC. He united the tribes against the Philistines, conquering their cities (such as Ekron), and extending his kingdom over Moab and other surrounding lands. He captured Jerusalem to make it the city of David, capital of the united tribes of Israel and Judah. He was succeeded by his son Solomon, and the Davidic line ruled in Jerusalem until 586 BC when the city was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar.

David initially served under Saul but later became a renegade and then a mercenary leader for the Philistines under Achish of Gath, who refused to let him fight with the Philistines against Saul.

David sent Uriah (a soldier in his army) to his death in the front line of battle so that he might marry his widow, Bathsheba. David and Bathsheba's son Solomon became the third king.

David probably wrote a few of the psalms (of the Book of Psalms) and was celebrated as a secular poet. In both Jewish and Christian belief, the messiah would be a descendant of David; Christians hold this prophecy to have been fulfilled by Jesus Christ.

David

Statue in marble by Michelangelo (1501-04; Accademia, Florence). The subject of David, biblical boy hero who killed the giant Goliath, was a popular symbol of the small republic of Florence; that Michelangelo portrayed the diminutive hero as a giant was seen as a grand statement of civic confidence. The sculpture's size (about 5.5 m/18 ft), combined with the mastery of its execution, has made it a symbol of the Renaissance itself.

David

Opera in five acts and 12 scenes by Darius Milhaud (libretto by A Lunel), written to celebrate the establishment of Jerusalem as the capital of Judea; it was first produced in Jerusalem, Israel, on 1 June 1954. It tells the story of the biblical David, founder of Jerusalem.