Artwork
Bathsheba
Bathsheba is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Jan Steen. It dates from 1668 and is held in the collection of the Norton Simon Museum.
About this work
Overview
Bathsheba is a 1668 oil painting by Jan Steen, held at the Norton Simon Museum.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a seated woman, likely Bathsheba, receiving a letter from a standing attendant. The scene is set in a domestic interior, with a dog nearby, suggesting a moment of everyday life infused with contemplation or surprise.
Technique & Style
The work features a detailed domestic interior, with a patterned rug, red drapes, and a window view of a building and trees, showcasing Steen's skill in rendering textures and spatial depth.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jan Havickszoon Steen was a Dutch Golden Age painter, one of the leading genre painters of the 17th century.
Paintings of physicians by Jan Steen
The Dissolute Household
Merry Company on a Terrace
Esther, Ahasuerus, and Haman
Interior of an inn with an old man amusing himself with the landlady and two men playing backgammon, known as 'Two kinds of games'
The Drunken Couple
The Happy Family
Bathsheba after the Bath
Pretiose Recognized
Love Sickness
Choice between richness and youth
Elegant interior in which a soldier with a trumpet grabs a young woman by the arm
The Doctor's Visit (Alte Pinakothek)
The Courtesan
Usurer with a Tearful Woman
Dutch courtship
Esther reading Haman's Decree of the Extermination of the Jews
Visit to the nursery
Wollüstiger Alter
A Woman and a Procuress (Bathsheba)