‘Samson at the Mill,’ by Frederic Leighton

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Samson at the Mill

Frederic Leighton

Produced after 1863, but not published until 1880–81

Proof wood engraving cut by the Dalziel Brothers, printed on India paper

7½ x 6¾ inches

Illustration in Dalziels’ Bible Gallery.

Plate 49. The scene shown here is of Samson’s captivity at the hands of the Philistines, doing harsh physical labour (Judges 16: 21). [Commentary continues below.]

Scanned image and text by Simon Cooke. [Click on the image to enlarge it, and mouse over the text for links.]

Leighton depicts Samson in exhaustion and despair, about to be struck by one of his captors. The artist preserves the detail of his shaven head and his closed eyes suggest his blindness. As usual in this artist’s Biblical designs, the physical details have a metaphorical significance: the sacks of grain are both materially real, and signs of the burdens weighing on the main character.

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Bibliography

Dalziels’ Bible Gallery. London: Routledge, 1881 [1880].

Created 23 June 2026