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Reference number
P00483
Author
Veronese, Paolo (Italian)
Title
Susannah and the Elders
Chronology
Ca. 1580
Technique
Support
Measures
151 cm x 177 cm
School
Theme
Shown
No
Entrance
COLECCION REAL
Procedence
Royal Collection

While bathing, Susannah is surprised by two old judges, Archian and Sedechius. She attempt to cover her nakedness, rejecting their dishonest propositions, as told in the Old Testament (Daniel 13, 1-63). The composition plays with contrasting colors to bring out Susannah's whiteness and fragility, as opposed to the dark clothing and bearded faces of the men. This is one of the most frequently depicted scenes in sixteenth-century Italian painting as its apparently moralizing tale allowed artists to offer their clients a favorite subject: female nudes.

This work is listed in the inventories of Madrid's Alc

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