Exceptional 17th century oil on canvas after Dominiquin (Domenico Zampieri) "King David playing the harp", kept at the Palace of Versailles.

 King David, one of the great figures of the Bible, is shown here playing the harp and dictating, under divine inspiration, the Psalms to an angel.

 This painting which caught the attention of Louis XIV: the king had it installed in his Grand Apartment in Versailles, then in his interior apartment. Being a music-loving king, He recognized himself in the figure of David.
 The work was to inspire Louis XIV, who had decided to give a religious inflection at the end of the reign.
 The work was painted by Le Dominiquin, Domenico Zampieri, one of the greatest Italian painters, originally from Bologna, at the beginning of the 17th century. The art of Dominiquin is based on the rigor of the composition, horizontal and vertical, tempered by the curvature of David's body, which follows that of the harp. The figure of the angel, on the left, introduces the viewer into the composition. The Dominiquino is also attached to the expression of passions: divine inspiration and repentance can be read on David's face.


 Historical:
 Collection of Cardinal Mazarin, before 1653; acquired by Louis XIV, 1665; Louis XIV collection; mentioned in the king's bedroom at Versailles then in the salon de Mars; re-lined and restored by Godefroid and Colins in 1751; placed in the 3rd room of the Superintendent during the summer; exhibited in the Salon de Mercure in 1794; revolutionary seizure, sent to the Central Museum; sent to Versailles to the special museum of the French school by the 1st convoy of July 15, 1797 and returned to Paris on August 5; exhibited at the Central Museum of Arts from 1798; proposed by Denon to Marshal Soult for the decoration of the castle of Saint-Cloud on May 23, 1803, selected for the council chamber, then placed in the living room of Diane; exhibited in the large gallery of the Louvre and in the Salon carré in the 19th century (figure in the catalogs of 1810, n ° 906, 1816, n ° 824, 1853, n ° 490 and 1877, n ° 470); deposit of the Louvre in Versailles, May 2, 1895; mentioned in the Salon de Mars, 1967.


 Excellent original condition, no restoration.

 Very beautiful frame in wood and gilded stucco from the 19th century.