"Susanna and the Elders"
Emilian School
Oil on canvas
Contemporary lacquered frame
Era: mid-17th century
Canvas: 126 x 182 cm
Frame: 138 x 195 cm
Excellent condition
This large, highly evocative and scenographic canvas depicts the scene of the famous biblical episode of "Susanna and the Elders," narrated in chapter 13 of the Book of Daniel.
The story was frequently depicted by masters of ancient painting starting from the 16th century, as it lent itself to the exaltation of sensual images with more or less evident erotic undertones, showcasing female nudity often in provocative and highly licentious poses, in total contrast to the morality of that era.
The paintings, almost always of significant size and often life-size, could be displayed in palaces, even ecclesiastical ones, under the guise of religious connotation, to conceal a desire for pornographic viewing.
In fact, the greatest artists of all Europe grappled with this theme, which lent itself to each artist giving their personal interpretation of the episode.
Our work reflects all the aesthetic canons required by important noble and religious patrons to furnish their sumptuous Renaissance and Baroque palaces.
Its artistic placement is easily recognizable in the 17th-century Emilian school, with its effective use of light and shadow and the bold, contrasting colors that accentuate a very evident volume.
The semi-nude figure of the beautiful protagonist is irradiated with light and peremptorily attracts the viewer's gaze, which only later rests on the figures of the two lecherous old men, one bearded and half-hidden and the other in the foreground with richly decorated garments, before getting lost in the view of the garden with the imposing fountain.
The fair skin of the chaste Susanna illuminates in the center of the canvas and offers her bare breast in a frontal pose with her face portrayed in profile and anxiously turned towards the two old men.
Her cheek is reddened, marked by a modest embarrassment, highlighting her shame in the face of the unexpected violation of her privacy.
It is an intriguing and highly effective work that lends itself to being placed with excellent results in any environment, whether in the privacy of a bedroom or in a living room, to become an interesting topic of conversation.
A certificate of authenticity (FIMA) will be issued.
All the details of the painting on the private website link:
https://www.antichitaischia.it/it/prodotto/susanna-e-i-vecchioni
