The religious story of Susanna and the Elders involves two men who surprise a bathing woman, and the biblical account of David and Bathsheba features one man seeing a woman bathing and subsequently having her brought to him. The story of Susanna is from the Apocrypha, where two elders spy on her while she bathes, attempt to blackmail her, and then falsely accuse her of adultery when she refuses. The account of David and Bathsheba is in the Old Testament, where King David sees Bathsheba bathing from his rooftop, inquires about her, and then sends for her (source AI).
oil on canvas, 24.5″ x 19.5″ source: color photo of artwork with dimensions of painting written en verso
graphite on paper sketch source: The Grell Spiral Sketchbooks collection (Romano / Schmidt; acquired in 2025)