Sebastiano Ricci
Bathsheba at her Bath, 1720s
Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest
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The Story of Bathsheba

2 Samuel 11
King David looked out his window one day, and noticed a beautiful woman bathing on a rooftop nearby. He summoned the woman, lay with her and she became pregnant. David summoned her husband Urriah, who was fighting in his army. He encouraged Urriah to go home and visit his beautiful wife, but Urriah had taken an oath, and insisted it wouldn’t be fair to his fellow soldiers if he slept in a warm bed while they slept on the ground. After his failed attempt to escape responsibility for Bathsheba’s pregnancy, he arranged for Urriah to be placed at the frontlines of the battle and then abandoned. After Urriah’s death, David took Bathsheba to be his own wife. God was displeased with David’s trickery, and their child did not survive. Bathsheba later became the mother of David’s son, Solomon, who grew up to become king.

Although this story is meant to illuminate the character of King David, showing the catastropic outcomes of the his impulsiveness, artists often shift the focus of this scene to portray Bathsheba as a beautiful woman calling attention to herself by bathing lavishly.

Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari
Bathsheba at Her Bath, c. 1680
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
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King David spies on Bathsheba’s bath from the balcony in the top right. Bathsheba’s vanity is emphasized by her glance in the mirror.

Artemisia Gentileschi
David and Bathsheba, 1640s
Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus
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King David spies on Bathsheba’s bath from the balcony in the top left.

Luca Giordano
The Toilet of Bathsheba, after 1700
National Gallery, London
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King David spies on Bathsheba’s bath from the balcony in the top left. Bathsheba’s vanity is emphasized by the number of attendants to her bath, and her selection of jewels.

Pieter Lastman
Susannah and the Elders, 1614
Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
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The Story of Susannah and the Elders

Book of Daniel
Two elders of Babylon lusted after the beautiful Susannah, and conspired to spy on her while she bathed. One afternoon, after Susannah had sent her maidservants away, the two elders approached her, confessed their lust, and insisted that she lie with them. They threatened to accuse her of adultery with a young man if she refused. When Susannah adamently refused, the elders cried out their accusations, and Susannah was sentenced to death for the crime of adultery. A young man named Daniel insisted on further investigation, and upon interrogating the elders separately, found discrepancies in their stories. Susannah was vindicated, and Daniel earned great respect.

Although this story is meant to illuminate the character of the young man who became the great Prophet Daniel, artists often shift the focus of this scene to emphasize the voyeuristic aspects of the story, and in some cases, to emphasize Susannah’s terror and struggle to maintain modesty.

Domenichino
Susannah and the Elders, 1603
Palazzo Doria-Pamphilj, Rome
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In the examples below, the elders spy on Susannah’s bath and have clearly invaded her personal space. They are shown tugging at her clothes, and holding up a finger to indicate silence. Susannah is shown startled or distressed, and she struggles to keep herself covered.

Guido Reni
Susannah and the Elders, 1620
National Gallery, London
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Anthony Van Dyck
Susannah and the Elders, 1621-22
Alte Pinakothek, Munich
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