Simson und Delila

When Liebermann showed this in 1902 he was the leading figure of the Berlin Secession, the group of artists who had broken from the official salons a few years earlier. He was in his mid-50s and best known for quiet scenes of everyday work, so a life-size Old Testament nude came as a surprise. He strips the story right down. Delilah has just cut Samson's hair, the source of his strength, and she twists away holding the shorn locks up like a trophy while a Philistine waits in the shadows. There is no seduction left in it, only the moment power changes hands, played out against bare white sheets and a grey wall.