''Bathsheba'' (or ''The Toilet of Bathsheba After the Bath'') are names given to a c 1480 oil on wood panel painting by the Early Netherlandish artist

Hans Memling Hans Memling (also spelled Memlinc; c. 1430 – 11 August 1494) was a painter active in Flanders, who worked in the tradition of Early Netherlandish painting. He was born in the Middle Rhine region and probably spent his childhood in Mainz. He ...

, now in the Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart. Its unusually close framing and the fact that many of the details are cut off suggests that it is a fragment of a larger, probably religious, panel or triptych that was broken up.Exum, 33 The painting is noted for being a rare 15th century depiction of a

nude Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...

person in

Northern Renaissance The Northern Renaissance was the Renaissance that occurred in Europe north of the Alps. From the last years of the 15th century, its Renaissance spread around Europe. Called the Northern Renaissance because it occurred north of the Italian Renais ...

art; such figures typically only appeared in representations of the ''

Last Judgement The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

'', and were hardly as deliberately erotic. Memling is attributed one other secular nude portrait, in the center panel of his c. 1485

Vanitas A ''vanitas'' (Latin for 'vanity') is a symbolic work of art showing the transience of life, the futility of pleasure, and the certainty of death, often contrasting symbols of wealth and symbols of ephemerality and death. Best-known are ''van ...

allegory '' Triptych of Earthly Vanity and Divine Salvation'', at the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Strasbourg.Ridderbos et al., 71 As opposed to Bathsheba, that nude is fully exposed, with visible genitalia. After van Eyck Woman at Her Toilet (MA)

It shows

Bathsheba Bathsheba ( or ; he, בַּת־שֶׁבַע, ''Baṯ-šeḇaʿ'', Bat-Sheva or Batsheva, "daughter of Sheba" or "daughter of the oath") was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and later of David, according to the Hebrew Bible. She was the mother of ...

, wife of

Uriah the Hittite Uriah the Hittite ( ''ʾŪrīyyā haḤītī'') is a minor figure in the Hebrew Bible, mentioned in the Books of Samuel, an elite soldier in the army of David, king of Israel and Judah, and the husband of Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam. While Uri ...

and later of

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, assisted by her maid as she rises from her indoor bath, as related in . Bathsheba is naked save a robe which the maid is about to wrap but hasn't quite wrapped around her. The women are indoors but before an open window which leads out to a

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

and skyscape. The bath from which Bathsheba emerges is pillared, with a roof of cushioned black velvet. There is a small white dog by her right foot. In the background, King David and a boy can be seen standing on the

balcony A balcony (from it, balcone, "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. Types The traditional Maltese balcony is ...

high above. The maid's facial type, demeanour and clothing bear the strong influence of

Rogier van der Weyden Rogier van der Weyden () or Roger de la Pasture (1399 or 140018 June 1464) was an early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commissioned single and diptych portraits. He was highly ...

's depictions of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

. The figure of Bathsheba has been compared to that in

Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( , ; – July 9, 1441) was a painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art. Ac ...

's now lost '' Woman Bathing'', although that painting is more

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...

than narrative.

Notes

Sources

* Exum, Cheryl. ''Cultural Representations of Biblical Women''. * Panofsky, Erwin. ''Early Netherlandish Painting''. London: Harper Collins, 1953. * Ridderbos, Bernhard; Van Buren, Anne; Van Veen, Henk. ''Early Netherlandish Paintings: Rediscovery, Reception and Research''. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2005. * De Vos, Dirk. ''Hans Memling: The Complete Works''. Ghent: Harry N Abrams, 1994. {{Hans Memling 1470s paintings Paintings by Hans Memling Paintings depicting Bathsheba Dogs in art