Ancient painting with a religious subject, oil on canvas, 17th century.

Oil on canvas. Northern Italian school of the 17th century. The scene depicts the biblical episode from the First Book of Samuel which recounts: "Now, when the evil spirit sent by God came upon Saul, David would take the harp and play it; Saul would feel relieved, he would feel better, and the evil spirit would depart from him." In the painting, the figures are powerful and vigorous, both King Saul and the guards restraining him, represented in a tangle of characters that occupies the entire left side of the scene; on the right is David who, although a young and simple shepherd, stands calmly before the furious king, playing his instrument with dignity and firmness. In the background to the right, in a corridor of the palace, the priests and advisors of the king observe the dinner with dismay. On the frame of the painting is a plaque attributing it to Bernardo Strozzi. The painting was restored and re-canvas in the mid-1900s, and is placed in a gilded frame of the style.