Italian school; 17th century. "Susana and the old men." Oil on canvas. Relined.

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Old Masters

By Setdart Auction House

Jun 30, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-06-30 08:30:00 2021-06-30 08:30:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Old Masters https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/setdart-auction-house/old-masters-7134
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• Lot Description
  Italian school; 17th century. "Susana and the old men." Oil on canvas. Relined. Presents repaints. Measurements: 96.5 x 69 cm. It presents models of Rubens We see in this painting the theme of Susanna in the bath, a story narrated in the Old Testament, specifically in the Book of Daniel. It belongs to the Greek version of the Bible, known as the Septuagint, whose origin dates back to the third century B.C. Susanna was a beautiful and chaste woman, wife of Joachim, a rich Jew of the Babylonian Exile. She is seen and desired by two elders who had been appointed judges among the Jews in exile; both agree to surprise her alone and convince her to give herself to them. In the most aesthetically widespread version in the history of art, this occurs during the young woman's bath. Susanna, however, confronts the elders, and tells them that she prefers death to sin. The men, seeing themselves rejected, accuse Susanna of adultery, and she is brought to trial, where they falsely testify against her. At the prominence of her accusers, Susanna is condemned to death by stoning. However, on the way to her death the prophet Daniel, who is then only a child, stops the popular procession and rebukes the people for acting without full knowledge of the cause, and asks to separate the two elders for intelligent questioning. The two false witnesses then fall into contradiction in their statements, and are condemned to death instead of Susana. Formally, it is a composition framed within the Flemish baroque, with two clearly differentiated parts at a compositional, chromatic and luminous level. First, we see Susana, a beautiful female nude with pearly tones, clearly influenced by Rubens, which evokes the Venus of Antiquity. In the background, we see the busts of the old men, wrapped in a golden gloom, emerging from the shadows and pouncing on Susanna, with their caricatured and aged faces. The scene picks up just the moment in which Susana, already in the bathroom, is going to be assaulted by the old men. The author has chosen this dramatic moment, where his Susana, although her back is turned to the spectator, turns her face imploringly, making us aware of her torture, inviting us to take an active role.
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