Susanna and the Elders

Susanna and the Elders by Artemisia Gentileschi (1610) is a perfect example of a Renaissance painting. The artist painted with oil on canvas - which had just been introduced during the Renaissance. Also, being a woman, Gentileschi decided to portray this scene a little differently than the other artists at the time. This is an example of a Renaissance theme - new and innovative ideas. Artemisia painted this piece when she was only 17 years old, which is actually why I chose to analyze this particular painting. She was taught by her father, Orazio Gentileschi - who was also a rather successful painter during the Renaissance.

This piece depicts the religious story of Susanna - an innocent young wife, who is sexually harassed by the elders in her town. Artemisia decided to 'tell' this story from the point of view of Susanna - which was quite uncommon at the time. The woman is cowering frightfully in the piece, as the elders loom mischievously over her. This specific biblical story was painted by various artists, who usually displayed Susanna as being flirtatious and thereby saying that she was not harassed at all, instead that she willingly got herself into all these situations. Gentileschi though, who herself was surrounded with similar issues (she lived in a society were rape was not uncommon at all; Artemisia was raped by her own art teacher a few years later) 'understood' Susanna - and she succeeded to make the viewer feel bad for the woman. Artemisia was very talented, as the proportions of the figures in the painting are all very exact, and the detail is also incredible.


Parker, Christine. "Susanna and The Elders." The Life and Art of Artemisia Gentileschi. Christine Parker. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. <http://www.artemisia-gentileschi.com/susanna.html>.