Symbolism in Susanna and the Elders 1610 by Artemisia Gentileschi

Artemisia Gentileschi was a Baroque artist whose paintings are often inspected in the Feminist lens of art history. Her paintings are seen from the woman’s perspective, and she often used her art to tell biblical stories and portraiture. The way Gentileschi depicts the subjects in her paintings are often analyzed with the context of her life, she was one of the few female painters during the Baroque era, and was a part of an infamous trial with Tassi her teacher that took advantage of her.  Artemisia Gentileschi’s Susanna and the Elders 1610 that tells the story of Susanna from the Book of Daniel from the Roman Catholic Church. Gentileschi’s narrative gives a more realistic depiction of the story, and it does not pertain to the male gaze like similar paintings at the time.

When conducting a formal analysis of Susanna and the Elders by Artemisia Gentileschi the viewer is able to understand the story behind the painting. The canvas is set up in a vertical composition, and the lighting shows that it is daytime. The woman is shown seated in the nude on a bench with a frieze behind it. She has a towel draped around one of her thighs and underneath her. She has one foot on the ground and one foot dipped into water which is assumed to be a bath. The woman’s legs are turned to the left of the frame and both of her arms are up and pushing away, her face is turned down with an expression of disgust. Two men are standing above the woman. The man on the left has one hand wrapped around the frieze on the bench and the other hand is on the other mans shoulder. He is whispering into the man on the rights ear, and his eyes are looking upwards. The man on the right is holding up a finger to his lips as to “Shush” the man on the left. He is leaning forward and getting very close to the woman, this is why she is recoiling and has her hands up in defense. The art is done in a realistic and classical style, and was painted with oil on canvas. These are the visuals that make up Gentileschi’s painting.

The formal analysis helps to understand what is occurring in the painting. In the painting it is clear that the two men are invading the woman’s privacy as she is bathing. Their expressions are dark and menacing, and the woman looks like she is feeling fear and disgust for the two men. The men appear to be planning on taking advantage of the woman, because she is nude they are planning on some form of sexual assault. From her towel, nudity, and foot being in the water the viewer can tell that she was recently bathing and at a moment of vulnerability. The woman in the painting is fighting back at the mens advances, with her arms up in defense and body turned away from the men.

The story of Susanna and the Elders is a biblical tale about two men manipulating a woman into making sexual advances, and attempting to defame her when she refuses. This painting was commonly depicted in the Baroque period, with many male painters giving very little emotions and facial expressions to Susanna in their paintings.

“In the 1610 painting, with its lack of greenery and water, Gentileschi divides the area between Susanna and the Elders with a very stark and solid barrier, creating an unmistakable inorganic demarcation between the two camps. Every part of the figure of Susanna is on the viewer’s side of the marble wall, showing that Susanna is very much a part of structured civilization, and will play by the rules of society.”

Silvers agues that the wall is a symbol of divide between Susanna and the two elders. The viewer sits on the same side of the wall as Susanna, and is contained in the same societal constructs. The two elders are meant to be seen as rouge and menacing, outside of the barriers that society created.

“Gentileschi's version departs from this tradition in significant ways. Removing Susanna from the garden, a traditional metaphor for the bounteous femininity of nature, Gentileschi isolates the figure against a rigid architectonic frieze which contains the body in a shallow and restricted space. The awkward twist and thrust of the body with its outflung arms, transforms the image into one of distress, resistance, and awkward physicality very much at odds with representations by Tintoretto, Guido Reni, and others who choose to position the female figure within attitudes of graceful display.”

Chadwick agues that there are stark differences from Artemisia Gentileschi’s depiction of Susanna and the Elders and other Baroque depictions. One of the differences is removing the iconographic location of a garden and changing it to a traditional style frieze. This could be Gentileschi symbolizing that women can be associated with traditional art styles. This is also emphasized in Susanna’s facial expression. When compared to works by Tintoretto, Reni, and other contemporaries to Gentileschi her depiction of Susanna is far more emotional. Many works show Susanna as being compliant, while Gentileschi’s shows a face of disgust and fear.   

Artemisia Gentileschi’s father was a known artist, Orazio Gentileschi. Her lineage gave her access and means to become an artist. Although it was uncommon in the Baroque period, it was still possible for women to gain acclaim in the art world. Orazio made it accessible for all of his children to become artists, but Artemisia was the most promising. This painting was created in 1610, two years prior to her trial with her rapist Tassi. The trial has defined many of Artemisia Gentileschi’s artworks, because this painting preceded the rape and trial we can assume that Gentileschi did not draw from personal experience in this artwork.

One of the advantages Artemisia had female an artist was being able to depict the female form with out needing to use a model, and instead used her self as reference. This made her nude depictions of women much more accurate than compared to those of male artists. Her artwork also shows the facial depictions of her female subjects in a human and expressive way, especially compared to most work at the time. Gentileschi’s depictions of men and women have stark differences compared to painters at the time. In Susanna and the Elders Artemisia Gentileschi captures the vindictive and predator expression of the men, and the stark reaction of Susanna. The painting is unique because it does not follow under the traditional iconographies of the story. Silvers and Chadwick both discuss Gentileschi’s use of a stone frieze instead of a garden.