Painting of Bathsheba at Bath

Oil on canvas. The large painting incorporates the pictorial styles of the 17th century but is from a later period, and was executed on a canvas applied to an older one. The scene depicts the biblical episode (from the Book of Kings), widely narrated in art, of the bath of Bathsheba, the wife of General Uriah, in the service of King David. According to the biblical account, David is on the terrace of his palace when he notices the woman bathing in the garden of her home, surrounded by her handmaidens. David falls in love with her and seduces her, making her pregnant. To cover up the misdeed, he recalls General Uriah from the front to have him lie with his wife, but Uriah refuses to leave his soldiers; so David sends him to fight on the front line, hoping he will be killed: which happens, and David can marry Bathsheba, but he will be punished by God for the adultery and wickedness committed. The painting proposes the moment when Bathsheba, just out of the bath, while looking at herself in the mirror held by a slave, and surrounded by other servants, reads the note that King David sent her; the latter appears in the upper right, overlooking the terrace. The scene is dominated by the female figures intertwined with each other, in a tangle of clothes and fabrics, and surrounded by the flowers of the garden; in the center stands out the mirror in a rich gilded frame. The painting has a patch in the lower right. It is presented in an antique gilded frame. Product Condition: Product in good condition, has small signs of wear. We try to present the real state as complete as possible with photos. If some details are not clear from the photos, the description prevails. Frame dimensions (cm): Height: 202 Width: 148 Depth: 8 Work dimensions (cm): Height: 178 Width: 125 ARARPI0240154