Paul Cézanne: Bathsheba 2

Public Domain Image: Bathsheba 2, oil painting on canvas painting by French artist and Post-Impressionist painter Paul Cézanne (1839-1906)

Cornelis van Haarlem: Bathsheba at her bath

Bathsheba at her bath (alternative title: Bathsheba at her toilet (2 Samuel 11:2), 1594 oil on canvas painting by the Dutch Golden Age painter and draughtsman Cornelis van Haarlem, aka Cornelis Corneliszoon van Haarlem (1562-1638), dimensions 77.5 cm x 64 cm (30.51 in x 25.20 in), currently located in Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Works of art by Cornelis van Haarlem, one of the leading Northern Mannerist artists in the Netherlands, are on display at the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem (Netherlands), the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (Netherlands), the Louvre in Paris (France), The National Gallery at Trafalgar Square in London (United Kingdom), The State Hermitage in St. Petersburg (Russia) and other museums.

Jan Matsys: Bathsheba Observed by King David

PD Photo: Bathsheba Observed by King David, 16th century oil on panel painting by Flemish painter Jan Matsys, dimensions 110 cm x 76 cm current location in private collection.

Bathsheba with David’s letter

‘Bathsheba with David’s letter’ (1654), oil on canvas painting by Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669), 142 cm x 142 cm (55.91” x 55.91”), located at Louvre, Paris. In 1869 the painting was bequeathed to the Louvre by Dr. Louis La Caze.

The Toilet of Bathsheba by Rembrandt van Rijn

‘The Toilet of Bathsheba’, or ‘Batseba aan haar toilet (2 Samuel 11:2)’, a 1643 oil on oak painting by Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) or by the workshop of Rembrandt, dimensions 57.2 cm x 76.2 cm (22.52” x 30.00”) currently located in Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. On 9 June 1913 the painting was bought by Paris art dealer Duveen at the sale of the collection of Jhr. Hendricus Adolphus Steengracht, The Hague, at the auction house Georges Petit, Paris. From Duveen, the same year, it was bought by Benjamin Altman of New York and bequeathed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York by Altman.

Bathsheba Bathing by Gerome

Image: Bathsheba Bathing, painting by French painter and sculptor Jean-Leon Gerome.

Painting: Bathsheba by Willem Drost

This is a photo of the 1654 oil on canvas painting (dimension 103 cm x 87 cm) of Bathsheba, wife of David and mother of Solomon, by Willem Drost, currently located at Musée du Louvre, Paris, France. Drost (1633-1659) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and printmaker of history paintings and portraits.

Painting: Bathsheba by Karl Briullov

Painting: Bathsheba by Karl Briullov (1799-1852), the Russian painter regarded as a key figure in transition from the Russian neoclassicism to romanticism.

Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, was the wife of Uriah the Hittite, and afterward of David, by whom she gave birth to Solomon, who succeeded David as king. The references say David, while walking on the roof of his house, saw Bathsheba, who was then the wife of Uriah, taking a bath, desired her and later made her pregnant.

To conceal his sin, David summoned Uriah from the army with the hope that Uriah would re-consummate his marriage and think that the child is his. But Uriah was unwilling to violate the kingdom’s rule applying to warriors in active service and preferred to remain with the palace troops without meeting his wife Bathsheba.

After repeated efforts to convince Uriah to fertilize Bathsheba, the king David gave the order to his general, Joab, that Uriah should be abandoned during a heated battle and left to the hands of the enemy. Ironically, David had Uriah himself carry the message that ordered his death. After Uriah was dead, David made the now widowed Bathsheba his wife.

Bathsheba Bathing by Francesco Hayez

Painting: Bathsheba Bathing (Bathseba im Bade/ Betsabea al bagno) by Francesco Hayez (1834), an 1834 oil painting on canvas, 77 cm x 107 cm, is currently located in a private collection in Lugano.

According to the Hebrew Bible, Bathsheba (Bat Sheva, daughter of the oath) was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and later of David, King of Israel and Judah. She was the daughter of Eliam, one of King David's Thirty Warriors. Eliam was also the son of Ahitophel, one of David's chief advisors. Ahitophel was from Giloh, a city of Judah, and thus Bathsheba was from David's own tribe and the granddaughter of one of David's closest advisors. She was the mother of Solomon, who succeeded David as king.