On-line gallery
- 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
