Bathsheba at the bath, oil painting on canvas, 19th century

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PLATINUM Seller in Milano, Italy

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Item description

Oil painting on canvas depicting Bathsheba at the bath, 19th century. This large work echoes the pictorial modes of the 17th century but is from a later period and was made on a canvas affixed to an older one. The scene recounts the biblical episode (taken from the Book of Kings), extensively narrated pictorially, of the bathing of Bathsheba, the wife of General Uriah, in the service of King David. According to the biblical account, David is standing on the terrace of his palace when he notices the woman bathing in the garden of his dwelling, surrounded by her handmaids. David falls in love with her and seduces her, impregnating her. To disguise the misdeed, he summons General Uriah from the front to lie with his wife, but Uriah does not want to leave his soldiers; so David sends him to fight on the front lines, hoping that he will be killed. This happens and David is able to marry Bathsheba but will be punished by God for the adultery and impiety committed. The painting depicts the moment when Bathsheba, having just emerged from the bath, as she looks into the mirror held by a slave girl, and surrounded by other servants, reads the note sent to her by King David; the latter appears in the upper right corner, looking out onto the terrace. The scene is dominated by female figures entwined with each other in a tangle of robes and fabrics, and surrounded by garden flowers; in the center stands the mirror in a rich gilded frame. The painting has a patch in the lower right corner. It is presented in an antique gilt frame. Size without frame: 178 x 125 cm.

ID: 2096-1716313460-91782