Samson has been often compared to Gilgamesh from Chaldean mythology or the Greek hero Hercules. However, he can be traced back to the Biblical struggle of the Israelites against the Philistines, the earliest inhabitants of Palestine.

He is considered a solar hero, for in Hebrew his name means “little sun” or “man of the sun”. His strength lies in his hair just as the sun’s power lies in its rays and the lion’s in its mane. Although the legend is part of the Book of Judges(XIV, 5-6), he could not be deemed a judge like Daniel or Solomon, for his main virtue was strength and not wisdom, and the reasons behind his attack on the Philistines were personal grudges rather than a defence of his people.

The cartoon used follows the original oil painting by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), Samson and the Lion, which was part of the decoration of the halls of the Real Alcázar of Madrid in 1636. It became the property of Infante Sebastian of Portugal and Spain, and later of Maria Christina of Bourbon. It currently belongs to a private collection.

The scene depicts the episode when Samson kills the lion that attacked him when he was on his way to the city of Timnah. And although in the painting Rubens represented a half naked Samson only partially covered by a red robe, in the he is fully dressed with the same red robe and is wearing shoes. The landscape was also altered.

The scene is framed with a of Solomonic columns with composite capitals, decorated with flower and fruit garlands and bases with Roman busts in grisaille.

The cloth does not have any stamps. Therefore, its provenance from Brussels cannot be categorically confirmed, and it is possible that it might have been made in Antwerp or Bruges.