Offered by Antichità Castelbarco
Painter active in Rome in the early 17th century
Susanna and the Old Men
Oil on canvas
76 x 62 cm.
with frame 92 x 78 cm.
Details of the work (click HERE)
This valuable painting illustrates the piquant episode, taken from the Old Testament (Daniel, XIII), in which the virtuous Susanna, the married daughter of a rich Jew, is caught by two elderly men, newly elected judges, while she is bathing in the garden of her palace. At her refusal to give in to the lusts of the elders, they denounce her with false accusations of adultery, but are eventually exposed for their infamous lies.
In this work, the painter adheres to the typical sixteenth-century Italian figurative culture, whereby the male characters come from the opposite side of the young woman who, in her energetic and contorted attitude, expresses modesty and dramatic fear, representing the division between righteousness and iniquity.
In the portrait, Susanna is wrapped in a white draped cloth, a symbol of her purity: she knows she has not committed adultery, but her face nevertheless illustrates her fear of not being believed.
The iconographic theme of ‘Susanna and the Old Men’, which apparently boasted moralistic intentions, became very fashionable in the Baroque period due to its obvious erotic overtones, duly masked by its biblical origin, and its intrinsic exaltation of conjugal fidelity and chastity. The depiction of Susanna caught half-naked was therefore often a pretext to satisfy the patrons' desire for female nude subjects.
The style and heartfelt classicism with which the scene is conceived denote the execution by a capable author active in Rome around the middle of the 17th century. This historical moment, crucial for Italian painting, saw the papal city as an extraordinary crossroads of pictorial stimuli: on the one hand the Lombard painters with a host of artists inspired by Caravaggio's naturalism, but also foreigners, Flemish, French and Spanish, such as Rubens, Poussin and Ribera, and on the other hand the classicist painters from Bologna, first and foremost Annibale Carracci, but also Domenichino and Reni, who continued the great tradition of Raphael.
It is therefore difficult to formulate a precise attribution, given this extremely prolific and heterogeneous cultural environment: the structure of the composition in fact recalls, albeit revisited, an invention of Annibale Carracci(https://www.lombardiabeniculturali.it/stampe/schede/C0060-00345/), while if we dwell on the individual figures, that of Susanna evokes one conceived by Rubens(https://catalogo.beniculturali.it/detail/HistoricOrArtisticProperty/0800079030), while those of the two old men evoke the painting with the same subject by Guido Reni(https://catalogo.beniculturali.it/detail/HistoricOrArtisticProperty/0800079030).
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The work sold is completed by an attractive gilded frame and comes with a certificate of authenticity and guarantee.
We take care of and organise the transport of the purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers. It is also possible to view the painting in the gallery in Riva del Garda, we will be happy to welcome you to show you our collection of works.
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Delevery information :
We take care of and organise the transport of the purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers.
We take great care We personally take care of the packaging, to which we devote a great deal of care: each work is carefully packed, first with arti- cle material, then with a custom-made wooden box.
Should you have the desire to see this or other works in person, we would be happy to welcome you to our gallery in Riva del Garda, Viale Giuseppe Canella 18, we are always open by appointment only.
