Federazione Italiana Mercanti d'Arte

Susanna and the Elders

Emilian school of 17 th century

"Susanna and the Elders"
Emilian School
Oil painting on canvas
Coeval lacquered frame
Period mid-17th century
Canvas 126 x 182
Frame 138 x 195
Very good condition
               
The large canvas, highly suggestive and scenographic, depicts the scene of the famous biblical episode of "Susanna and the Elders" narrated in chapter 13 of the Book of Daniel.
 The story was greatly represented by the masters of ancient painting starting from the sixteenth century, as it lent itself to the exaltation of sensual images and more or less evident erotic implications, with the ostentation of female nudity often in provocative and highly licentious poses, in total contrast with the morality of that era.
 The paintings, almost always of important dimensions and often life-size, could be exhibited in palaces, even ecclesiastical ones, with a pretext of religious connotation, to cover a desire for pornographic viewing.
In fact, the greatest artists from all over Europe measured themselves with this theme which lent itself to giving everyone their own personal reading of the episode.
Our work reflects all the aesthetic standards required by important noble and religious commissions to furnish their sumptuous Renaissance and Baroque palaces.
Its artistic location is easily recognizable in the 17th century in Emilia with the effective effects of lights and shadows and the strong and contrasting colors that accentuate a very evident volume.
The half-naked figure of the beautiful protagonist is radiated with light and peremptorily attracts the gaze of the viewer, who can only taste the figures of the two lewd old men, one bearded half hidden and the other in the foreground with richly decorated robes. , and then get lost in the vision of the garden with the imposing fountain.
The white skin of the chaste Susanna lights up in the center of the canvas and offers her naked breasts in a frontal pose with her face portrayed in profile and turned apprehensively towards the old duo.
Her cheek is red, marked by a modest embarrassment, which highlights her shame in the face of the unexpected violation of her own intimacy.
It is an intriguing and impressive work on the wall that lends itself to being inserted with an excellent result in any environment, both in the privacy of a bedroom and in a living room to become an interesting topic of conversation.
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