Susanna and the Elders (Gentileschi, Bologna)

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Susanna and the Elders
Artemisia Gentileschi - Susanna and the Elders near a Balcony.jpg
Artist Artemisia Gentileschi, Onofrio Palumbo
Year1652
Medium Oil on canvas
Dimensions200.3 cm× 225.6 cm(78.9 in× 88.8 in)
Location Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna

Susanna and the Elders is a 1652 painting by the Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi. It currently hangs in the Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna. The painting, over two metres broad, was completed in collaboration with Gentileschi's pupil Onofrio Palumbo - documents relating to the sale of the painting mention a payment to Palumbo. [1]

Contents

It is one of many paintings by Gentileschi that depicts the story of Susanna from the Book of Daniel. Her first was completed when she was seventeen and around the time she was raped by one of her father's students; this particular painting was done when she was approaching sixty years old and is her last known dated work. [1]

Description

The story derives from the biblical book of Daniel, in which a virtuous woman is set upon by two lustful older men. They surprise her while she is bathing and demand that she submit to their lewd intentions, threatening to publicly accuse her if she does not. The theme was commonly used in art from the 16th century and was often used as an opportunity to portray the nude female form. [2] In contrast to the version that Gentileschi painted at the start of her career, this version shows Susannah in a more theatrical pose, deflecting the men's advances rather than shrinking away. [1]

A faint signature and date have been detected on the lower left at the base of the balustrade. [1]

Provenance

Bank records indicate that a version of Susannah was sold to Antonio Galise in early 1653; historians believe it to be this version. [3] It can then be traced to the Medici collection at the Palazzo Medici Riccardi by 1774. [4] By 1945 it was in the Azzolini collection as a work by Elisabetta Sirani, from which it was left to the Italian nation and designated for the regional gallery in Bologna. [5] Recent restoration and investigation have led to the attribution to Gentileschi rather than Sirani. [6]

Other versions of Susanna by Artemisia Gentileschi

See also

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Susanna and the Elders is a 1610 painting by the Italian Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi and is her earliest-known signed and dated work. It currently hangs at Schloss Weißenstein in Pommersfelden, Germany. The work shows an uncomfortable Susanna with two men lurking above her while she is in the bath. This was a popular scene to paint during the Baroque period. The subject matter comes from the deuterocanonical Book of Susanna in the Additions to Daniel. Susanna and the Elders was one of Gentileschi's signature works. She painted several variations of the scene early in her career.

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Judith and her Maidservant is a c. 1615 painting by the Italian baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi. The painting depicts Judith and her maidservant leaving the scene where they have just beheaded general Holofernes, whose head is in the basket carried by the maidservant. It hangs in the Pitti Palace, Florence.

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<i>Susanna and the Elders</i> (Gentileschi, Stamford) Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Susanna and the Elders is a painting by the Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi. It is signed with Gentileschi's name and the date of 1622. The painting is in the collection at Burghley House near Stamford, Lincolnshire, England.

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<i>Judith Slaying Holofernes</i> (Artemisia Gentileschi, Florence) Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

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Clio, Muse of History is a painting by the baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi. It was painted around 1632, just after Artemisia had moved to Naples. It currently hangs in the Palazzo Blu, Pisa. The painting has been interpreted in relationship to Gentileschi's own career and self-image - "by including her signature in Clio's open book, Artemisia was quite literally writing herself into history". In stylistic terms, the painting demonstrates Gentileschi's borrowing from Venetian styles of painting where she "applied her colors in a free and more spontaneous fashion."

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Susanna and the Elders is an Old Testament story of a woman falsely accused of adultery after two men who, after discovering one another in the act of spying on her while she bathes, conspire to blackmail her for sex. Depictions of the story date back to the 9th century, but were infrequent until the Renaissance.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Treves 2020, p. 222.
  2. Treves 2020, p. 114.
  3. Modesti 2016, p. 143.
  4. "Immunity From Seizure: Artemisia" (PDF). The National Gallery, London. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  5. Modesti 2016, p. 135.
  6. Locker 2015, p. 170.

Sources