David with the head of Goliath

An androgynous-looking David, bare-chested as in many semi-nude paintings of women, leans against a column as he contemplates Goliath's severed head. Why is he looking so calmly at his hideous handiwork? This is why. David, as so often in poetic painting, is an alter ego of the artist who has just executed his painting. Be on the lookout for puns in art; They are very common. In fact, here's another one. The head (without the body) symbolizes not only David's painting but his masterpiece because, in Italian, masterpiece is capolavoro or literally head work. David as a painter is contemplating his work of art. Does that make more sense of the scene?

The sword, of course, is David's "brush," facing the image just as Reni's actual brush would have done. We know it symbolizes his "brush" because its handle means GR for Guido Reni. In the diagram below, yellow indicates G on the left side, red for R on the right. (It is not entirely clear whether the top of the G is hidden behind the blade or extends into the space to the right as indicated in the diagram.)

Of course, there's more to discuss here, including the juxtaposition of the circular column and the rectangular cube, but at least this brief description of the true scene provides a firmer foundation to dream about.