Reading: 2 Samuel 11:1-15
Commentary by Hovak Najarian
Bathsheba at Her Bath is one of several versions of this subject painted by Artemisia Gentileschi. In each of them the focus is primarily on Bathsheba with King David observing her from a distance.
In this scene, Bathsheba is relaxed and seems to be interested only in her grooming. She, and the two women assisting her in the foreground, are occupied with details associated with her bath and there is no indication they are aware of being watched by King David.
While Bathsheba was at home in Jerusalem, her husband, Uriah, was serving in King David’s army in a war with the Ammonites. David remained in Jerusalem during this war and everyday activities on the home front continued. On the day Bathsheba was bathing she was in an open-air walled area where she would not be noticed by people at street level but David was at a higher vantage point and could see her.
In Artemisia’s painting, Bathsheba’s bath is almost complete. She is combing her long hair while an attendant is wiping her legs. Another attendant is braiding a portion of her hair and in the background at the upper left, King David is looking at her from a balcony of his Venetian styled palace (He is being shielded from the sun by an attendant with a parasol). Though David is a minor figure in this composition, he is a major player in the events that followed.
David was struck by Bathsheba’s beauty and desired to be with her. He sent word for her to come to his palace and this resulted in an inappropriate relationship. Bathsheba became pregnant. In order for David to make it seem like he was not the father of the expected child, Uriah was called back from his military duties to spend time with his wife. Uriah, a highly disciplined military man, however, did not go to his wife. This did not turn out as David hoped so Uriah was sent back to the battlefield and placed in the thick of action where he would be killed. After Uriah’s death, David married Bathsheba but the child that was conceived, died.
In early paintings of Bathsheba, she was portrayed as an innocent victim of King David. The biblical account indicates David, in his position of power, took advantage of her. By the seventeenth century, however, it was suggested Bathsheba was flattered by the attention she received and might have been a willing participant … even a temptress. This second interpretation seems to have grown out of fantasy; there is no factual information to support it.
After the concept of art and artist was established in the fifteenth century, the making of art became a trade. Artists established workshops and sought commissions from wealthy patrons and the Church. In these artist’s workshops the men in a family often worked alongside their father, whereas young women were expected to pursue domestic skills. Unlike traditional roles of women in her time, however, Artemisia apprenticed in the workshop of her well-known father, Orazio, and acquired the skills and insights that enabled her to establish a career in a field dominated by men. In subject matter, she often turned to events in the Bible in which women played important roles or performed heroic deeds.
Hovak Najarian © 2024
Art note
When Artemisia was young, her mother died and she, along with her brothers, joined her father in his art workshop. She was more serious about art than her brothers and wanted to learn all she could from her father, Orazio.
Her father, like many artists who settled in Rome at that time, was influenced by Caravaggio and Artemisia also took an early interest in Caravaggio’s work. She did not limit herself to portraits and flowers (subjects expected of women who painted) but often took on subjects with emotional content. Although she was very gifted and recognized as such among other artists of her time, women artists tended to be overlooked by art historians and it was not until around mid-twentieth century that she began to be recognized for her achievements.
More: Artemisia Gentileschi (Wikipedia)
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