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Erschienen in:
01.01.2019 | Endocrinology & Art
Goliath as an acromegalic giant by Giovanni Lanfranco (1582–1647)
Erschienen in: Journal of Endocrinological Investigation | Ausgabe 1/2019
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Some pictorial representation of the giant Goliath may be have been inspired by the artists’ awareness of the even infrequent occurrence of acromegaly and gigantism in the general population. Clear features of acromegaly in the Goliath’s face are evident in a magnificent painting by Caravaggio as illustrated by Giovanni Faglia in this Journal [1]. The precious and little known painting by Giovanni Lanfranco, reproduced in Fig. 1 [2], depicts evident features suggestive of acromegaly in the face of the giant Goliath, such as the coarsened nose, the prominent frontal bossing, and the furrows on the forehead due to a coarse and thickened skin with evident outgrowths of tegumental tissue (skin tags), better evident in Fig. 2.
Fig. 1
Giovanni Lanfranco, Davide con la testa di Golia (David handling the Head of Goliath) 1617 circa, oil on canvas 127.5 × 152.5 cm, Fondazione di Studi di Storia dell’Arte Roberto Longhi, Florence, Italy
Fig. 2
Detail of Fig. 1 depicting several facial signs of acromegaly (coarsened and enlarged facial features, especially nose, coarse and thickened skin with evident outgrowths of skin tissue (skin tags)
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