Susanna (수산나)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artemisia Gentileschi 1593 – 1656

Susanna and the Elders

oil on canvas (170 × 121 cm) — 1610

Schloss Weissenstein, Pommersfelden

Artemisia Gentileschi biography

 

This work is linked to Susanna 1:20

20 Behold, the garden doors are shut, that no man can see us, and we are in love with thee; therefore consent unto us, and lie with us.

 

This work is assumed to be Artemisia Gentileschi's first major painting. She was 17 when she completed it. Perhaps she was inspired by Rubens' painting on the story of Susanna. He also shows how the old man asks Susanna to be quiet.

The work is in the private collection of the Schönborn family. In their Schloss Weissenstein the family keeps a large collection of baroque art.

 

 

 

 

 

Il Tintoretto 1518 – 1594

Susanna and the Elders

oil on canvas (147 × 194 cm) — 1560-62

  Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Il Tintoretto biography

 

This work is linked to Susanna 1:15

15 And it fell out, as they watched a fit time, she went in as before with two maids only, and she was desirous to wash herself in the garden: for it was hot.

 

While Susanna is bathing, two old judges spy on her. They approach her with indecent proposals and when she declines accuse her of adultery.

 

 

 

 

 

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 1606 – 1669

Susanna and the Elders

oil on panel (77 × 93 cm) — 1647

  Gemäldegalerie der Staatlichen Museen, Berlin

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn biography

 

This work is linked to Susanna 1:20

20 Behold, the garden doors are shut, that no man can see us, and we are in love with thee; therefore consent unto us, and lie with us.

 

Mahogany panel. one of the many paintings of the story of Susanna, who is spied upon by two old men when taking a bath. When the modest Susanna rejects their advances, they cause serious problems for her. Daniel comes to the rescue in the end.

Rembrandt had depicted Susanna before, in 1636. on that panel the two men are still hidden.

 

 

 

 

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 1606 – 1669

Susanna Bathing

oil on panel (47 × 39 cm) — 1636

  Mauritshuis, The Hague

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn biography

 

This work is linked to Susanna 1:15

15 And it fell out, as they watched a fit time, she went in as before with two maids only, and she was desirous to wash herself in the garden: for it was hot.

 

When Susanna is about to take a bath, she notices that she is being looked on. one of the voyeurs can be seen to the right of her, with some difficulty. With her hands she tries to cover her nakedness. She looks at us: after all, we're peeking at her just as the dirty old men are.

In 1647 Rembrandt made another Susanna, where the two old men step forward.

 

 

 

 

 

Sebastiano Ricci 1659 – 1734

Susanna before Daniel

oil on canvas (243 × 440 cm) — 1725-26

  Galleria Sabauda, Turin

 

This work is linked to Susanna 1:48

48 So he standing in the midst of them said, Are ye such fools, ye sons of Israel, that without examination or knowledge of the truth ye have condemned a daughter of Israel?

 

The pious and beautiful Susanna has been falsely accused of adultery by two prominent old men. She had turned down their sexual advances. The gathering of Jews in Babylon believes them and rules that Susanna is to be put to death.

Then the young prophet Daniel steps in. He interrogates the two men separately and finds contradictions in their statements. Susanna is then freed and the two men are evicted.

Ricci shows two moments that are not in the biblical story. Susanna pleas before Daniel, and the two men are chained.

 

 

 

 

 

Peter Paul Rubens 1577 – 1640

Susanna and the Elders

oil on canvas (94 × 66 cm) — 1607

Galleria Borghese, Rome

Peter Paul Rubens biography

 

This work is linked to Susanna 1:20

20 Behold, the garden doors are shut, that no man can see us, and we are in love with thee; therefore consent unto us, and lie with us.

 

This is the first painting Rubens makes on the subject of Susanna. The elders spy on Susanna taking a bath, and are taken with her charms. They approach her. When she rejects their approaches, they accuse her of adultery. only by Daniel's intervention is her death by stoning prevented.

Rubens made the work in his Italian period

 

 

 

 

Giovan Battista Tiepolo 1696 – 1770

Susanna and the Elders

oil on canvas (56 × 43 cm) — c. 1720-22

  Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut

Giovan Battista Tiepolo biography

 

This work is linked to Susanna 1:20

20 Behold, the garden doors are shut, that no man can see us, and we are in love with thee; therefore consent unto us, and lie with us.

 

Tiepolo follows in the footsteps of, among others, Tintoretto, Rembrandt, Rubens and Van Dijck when he takes on this well-known theme. Two elders are bothering the beauteous Susanna. She shows her irritation, upon which the two accuse her of adultery and cause problems for her. In the end, Susanna receives help from Daniel.

 

 

 

Anthony Van Dyck 1599 – 1641

Susanna and the Elders

oil on canvas (194 × 144 cm) — 1621-1622

Alte Pinakothek, Munich

Anthony Van Dyck biography

 

This work is linked to Susanna 1:20

20 Behold, the garden doors are shut, that no man can see us, and we are in love with thee; therefore consent unto us, and lie with us.