Tintoretto, Jacopo (1518-1594)
Susanna e i vecchioni (Susanna and the Elders)
c.1555–1556
Oil on canvas, 146 × 193.6 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
In the Old Testament, it is told how Susanna receives lewd proposals from two men who have secretly intruded while bathing in her own garden. When she rejects them, they slander her to her husband. Only Daniel’s arbitration award saves Susanna from the death penalty imposed for the alleged adultery. The tension inherent in the scene – a “calm before the storm” – is visualized with the help of the contrasts between light and dark, between extreme proximity and farthest distance, dazzling beauty of the woman and caricature-like physiognomy of the men, etc. (KHM)
Compare:
Tintoretto, Jacopo (1518-1594)
Susanna e i Vecchioni
1552–1555
Museo del Prado, Madrid
Tintoretto, Jacopo (1518-1594)
Susanna e i vecchioni
c.1560
Musée du Louvre, Paris