Girolamo Michelangelo Grigoletti, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Susanna and the Elders
by Unknown Artist, 1866
Artwork Details
Details
- Year
- 1866
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Size
- 196 × 125 cm (77 × 49 in)
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Franz Xaver Winterhalter, court painter to European royalty, rendered this biblical scene of the virtuous Susanna spied upon by lecherous elders. The story from the Book of Daniel was a popular subject for artists exploring themes of beauty, voyeurism, and innocence.
Winterhalter was famous for his glamorous portraits of Queen Victoria, Empress Eugénie, and other aristocrats. This religious subject shows his command of the academic tradition.
The work is part of the Frye Art Museum's founding collection, reflecting Charles and Emma Frye's taste for dramatic, representational European painting.
Also at Frye Art Museum
View all →About Susanna and the Elders
It's at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle, part of the founding collection that Charles and Emma Frye assembled around 1900. The museum focuses on representational European painting.
He was the court painter to European royalty, famous for glamorous portraits of Queen Victoria, Empress Eugénie, and other aristocrats. This biblical scene is an unusual religious subject from an artist best known for society portraiture.
From the Book of Daniel, it tells of the virtuous Susanna being spied on by lecherous elders while bathing. The story was popular with artists for centuries as a way to explore themes of beauty, voyeurism, and innocence.
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