Susanna Bathing

In the Old Testament the story is told of Susanna, bathing in her own garden, receiving indecent propositions from two men who have secretly made their way in. When Susanna rejects them, they slander her in front of her husband. Only Daniel’s speech to the trial rescues Susanna from the death sentence to which she had been sentenced for alleged adultery. The tension inherent to the scene – the “calm before the storm” – is visualised by means of contrasts between bright and dark, between extreme proximity and great distance, between the dazzling beauty of the woman and the caricatured physiognomy of the men etc.