Suzanne And The Elders – 18th Century – After A Work By Peter Paul Rubens

A fine 18th-century oil on canvas depicting Susanna and the Elders, after a composition by Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640).

This finely executed interpretation, reminiscent of the work of Nicolas Vleughels (1668–1737), is distinguished by its delicate rendering of flesh tones, refined facial features and particularly careful treatment of the drapery.

Around 1616–1617, Rubens painted a depiction of the biblical story of Susanna and the Elders. The original painting is now lost, but its composition survives through an engraving made in 1620 by Lucas Vorsterman (1595–1675), a Flemish engraver and close collaborator of Rubens.

The British Museum in London holds a preparatory drawing by Vorsterman for this engraving, based on Rubens's composition. Reversed in relation to the finished print, the drawing provides valuable insight into the process of translating painted compositions into engravings during the 17th century.

An impression of the 1620 engraving is also preserved in the British Museum's collections.

The present painting reproduces Vorsterman's engraved composition with exceptional precision.

A comparative study, involving the superimposition of the two images, reveals an almost exact correspondence in the arrangement of the figures, the overall proportions and the principal details of the scene.

This close correspondence demonstrates that the 18th-century painting was based on Vorsterman's 17th-century engraving, itself derived from Rubens's lost original.

An old handwritten inscription on the reverse of the frame reads “Monsieur le Baron Saladin”.

This suggests that the painting may once have belonged to Baron Saladin's collection, although the precise identity of its former owner has not yet been established.

The Saladin name is notably associated with an old patrician family from Geneva, documented since the 16th century, whose members included magistrates, bankers and prominent landowners. However, a connection between this particular inscription and the Genevan family has yet to be confirmed.

The painting is presented in an antique giltwood and composition frame, richly decorated with floral motifs.

Period: 18th century
School: Probably French
Medium: Oil on canvas
Subject: Susanna and the Elders
After: Peter Paul Rubens, through Lucas Vorsterman's engraving of 1620
Dimensions: 35 × 45 cm, excluding frame
Presumed provenance: Baron Saladin's collection, according to an old inscription on the reverse of the frame

Documentary references:

• British Museum, London: preparatory drawing by Lucas Vorsterman, inv. 1895,0915.1056.

• British Museum, London: engraving by Lucas Vorsterman, inv. 1981,U.377.

• Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: engraving by Lucas Vorsterman, 1620, inv. 51.501.7008.