The Bible story of chaste Susanna

The Bible story of chaste Susanna, the wife of a wealthy Jew during the time of the Babylonian exile, is told in episodes like vivid sketches which enliven with color the Renaissance setting of the compositions, from the majestic architecture in the foreground to the views of the city and the landscape in the background, where the vicissitudes of the heroine Susanna take place in a beautiful Italian garden.

Here, barely sketched in by rapid brushstrokes, glimpse the small nude figure of Susanna is observed by two lustful Jewish elders as she takes her bath, thinking she is alone. The narration then moves to the foreground where the young woman, unjustly accused of adultery, is held by two soldiers. At the same time, next to this scene, we see the identification of the true guilty parties, who are dragged into the public square (on the right) and stoned as provided for by Jewish law.

From the Renaissance onwards, the stories of chaste Susanna became the symbol of the virtues and marital fidelity which were proper to a young bride. Thus it would not be erroneous to suppose that this painting was made for a private patron, perhaps in connection with a wedding between members of the richest Sienese families around the end of the sixteenth century.