Susanna and the Elders

The two elders, enflamed by the virtuous Susanna's beauty, conspire together. Catching her off guard as she bathes, they threaten her and demand she give in to their lust; she bravely rejects them. The men's purpose is clear, their physical stance and gestures express their eagerness, their threat. Susanna's body is, in comparison, almost mute. Bassano is less interested in the profound examination of emotion, than in the viewer's aesthetic pleasure. Solid surfaces seem insubstantial - shimmering with light and the movements of the artist's brush across the canvas. Contrasts - between the clothed and the naked - and the play of gesture and response structure and enrich the image.