Axial Commons Image Treasury
Etching of a muscular man wrestling a lion on a rocky path while two onlookers recoil; a town and bridge appear in the background.

Samson kills the lion with his bare hands. Etching by J.B. de Poilly after F. Verdier, 1698.

A muscular bearded man in a loincloth grapples with a roaring lion that rears against him on a rocky path, while two startled figures in period dress recoil at left and a walled town sits on a hill beyond. The engraved composition below carries French and Latin inscriptions describing the scene from the Book of Judges.

Artist
François-Alexandre Verdier
Date
1698
Medium
Etchings
Source
Wellcome Collection
Size
4000 × 3026 px
Download full size
Public domain · Wellcome Collection marks it Public Domain Mark; made by 1698.
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier A · as stated by the source: Public Domain Mark (Wellcome Collection)

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Wellcome Collection

Español: Sansón matando al león, grabado tras François-Alexandre Verdier, 1698

Un hombre musculoso con barba y un paño en la cintura lucha con un león rugiente que se levanta contra él en un sendero rocoso, mientras dos figuras sorprendidas con ropa de época retroceden a la izquierda. Al fondo se ven una ciudad amurallada sobre una colina y un puente.

Português: Sansão matando o leão, gravura após François-Alexandre Verdier, 1698

Um homem musculoso, barbudo e com um pano na cintura luta contra um leão rugindo que se ergue diante dele numa trilha rochosa, enquanto duas figuras assustadas, vestidas à moda da época, recuam à esquerda. Ao fundo, uma cidade murada sobre a colina e uma ponte completam a paisagem.

Stories of the Old Testamentsamsonsamson lionetchingengravingbiblical scenelion combat1698baroquede poillyverdierbook of judgesmuscular figure

More from Stories of the Old Testament

Engraving of a man asleep in a canopied bed, a beam of light crossing the room, a nude figure by the drapery, and a sphinx statue at left.God verschijnt aan SalomoEtching of figures in a doorway scene: a seated old man, a woman with raised hands, and a bearded man pointing right toward a kneeling younger man.Joseph's Coat Brought to JacobBlack-and-white lithograph portrait of a man with tousled dark hair, dark coat and loose cravat, shown head and shoulders against a plain grey background.Abraham LincolnEngraving of a bearded alchemist at a worktable by a fireplace, with assistants working behind him in a cluttered laboratory.An alchemist with his assistants in his laboratory. Engraving by J.P. Le Bas, 1747, after Hand-colored lithograph of a mounted officer in dark uniform raising a sword on a black horse, with smoke, troops, and fallen soldiers on a battlefield.Ulysses S. GrantMezzotint of a nude man raising a club against a winged harpy at right, while two women watch beside a doorway inscribed Janus.Allegorie op de Vrede van Nijmegen (1678): Hercules verslaat de harpijen voor de tempel va