Susanna And The Elders

Follower of Pieter Lastman, 17th Century

Susanna and the Elders

Oil on canvas, 56 x 82 cm

Frame 71 x 95 cm


The painting represents the well-known Old Testament story of Susanna, the beautiful and pious wife of Joachim, a rich Jew in exile in Babylon. While bathing in her garden, she was spied on by two elderly men, who made indecent proposals to her in vain; then, in revenge, they accused the chaste woman of adultery with a young man, completely unjustly (Daniel 13, 1-24). This subject has been one of the most popular themes of biblical iconography and has been depicted countless times in early modern painting. As an example of female chastity, the theme was obviously an "exemplum virtutis", but this biblical bath scene was also a pretext to depict sensual female nudes. The destination of this type of painting was mainly the relative solitude of bourgeois or aristocratic interiors.

The work can be placed in the strand of biblical representation influenced by Pieter Lastman (Amsterdam, 1583 –1633), one of the most important history painters of his time. In 1614, the artist created his depiction of the chaste Susanna which Rembrandt would later use as a source of inspiration. In 1603 he visited Italy, in particular Rome, where he remained until 1605/07 and had the opportunity to directly learn about the works of Caravaggio and Adam Elsheimer, fundamental for his artistic training. Having become a follower of Elsheimer, he opted for a more expressive and more dramatic way, representing historical subjects with realistic accents and attention to the psychology of the characters, in which the influence of Caravaggio can be seen. Upon his return to the Netherlands he became a prominent element in the artistic environment of Amsterdam, where he remained until his death.

When Rembrandt van Rijn painted Susanna and the Elders, religious themes were not as common in Dutch art as in the rest of Europe, due to the rise of Protestantism in the Netherlands and a loss of favor with the Catholic tradition. Initially, in 1636, he created a drawing on the theme of Susanna and the Elders based on a painting by his teacher Pieter Lastman. The canvas completed in 1647, however, has a different composition from that of Lastman, except for some similarities. If in previous paintings Susanna often had a sensual or erotic charge, Rembrandt chose to depict the attempted aggression of the old men as described in the story.

The painting has some intense colors and shading typical of the Rembrantesque style but the architecture turns its gaze towards the iconographies of Pieter Lastman. Susanna is staying but is interrupted by the old men. The lush surroundings, the dense vegetation surrounding the place, the Flemish palace at the bottom right and the classical architecture on the left give the canvas an atmosphere atypical of the theme covered.