FR - Susanna and the Elders

The iconography is typical of the biblical episode known as "Susanna and the Elders," found in the Book of Daniel. Two elderly judges surprise the woman bathing and threaten to blackmail her with slander if she refuses. The woman refuses and is put on trial. But the accusers are contradicted by Daniel, who with this very episode begins his role as prophet. This iconography has been widespread since the 16th century. Several examples of it can be found in Venetian Renaissance painting.

Formally, FR organizes the composition very rigorously, following rational schemes and a search for balance and harmony. The figures exhibit a certain typical monumentality that still harks back to the High Renaissance, and their rendering is perfectly in line with a classicist naturalism subject to considerable idealization. Technically, the painter displays a fine hand, especially in his depiction of anatomy, even that hidden by skillfully flowing draperies. Although his style is somewhat dry, he still manages to apply just the right amount of sfumato, bringing his figures to life. Space is perceived through passages of light that signal depth, achieved through subtle tonal gradations of color.

From a stylistic and formal analysis of the work, we can outline the profile of an artist likely from the 17th or 18th century, still heavily influenced by a typically classicist rationality and monumentality. However, his somewhat dry pictorial style and the bright chromatic range of the garments suggest some vestiges of a Mannerist cultural context.

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