Francesco Hayez, 'Susanna at her Bath', 1850

Francesco Hayez’s painting shows a scene from the Book of Daniel in the Christian Bible. Susanna, the lady in the picture, is a virtuous woman who bathes alone in her walled garden. She is watched by two elders who try to blackmail her into sleeping with them by threatening to denounce her for adultery. She refuses and is arrested and condemned to be put to death. She is saved by Daniel who proves that the elders were lying, and they are then executed. It is a story about faith and moral integrity. However, in many depictions, the voyeurism of the elders acts as an excuse to show a naked woman.

Hayez was an Italian artist who had a long and productive career. He was born in Venice but spent most of his working life in Milan. At the time, both were part of the Austrian Empire. His clear painting style and bright palette were most influenced by Neoclassicism. But his subject matter, in particular his large works of historical subjects, has meant that he is commonly described as a leader of the Italian Romantic movement.

From the 1830s Hayez began to produce works, frequently with religious themes, that showed young women with raven hair and pale complexions. By the 1840s this model had evolved into odalisques, semi-clothed women often bathing, which was a subject favoured by Romantic painters. He also started to make works with allegorical subjects featuring similar dark-haired women. His most famous is La Meditazione of 1851 (Galleria d'arte moderna Achille Forti, Verona).

When first exhibited, Susanna at her Bath was praised for the lifelike quality of the painting, the graceful pose of Susanna and ‘the composition so severe in its simplicity’.

The duality between virtue and vice is suitable for this story of a virtuous woman who is ensnared by male lust. Behind Susanna, curling around the brickwork, are branches of ivy. Once again, there is a double meaning. Ivy was a Christian symbol of fidelity and salvation, which is appropriate to the story.

It is usual in most depictions to show the elders leering at Susanna, such as in Susannah and the Elders by Ludovico Carracci or Susannah and the Elders by Guido Reni in the National Gallery. However, Hayez does not include them in his painting. Instead, Susanna pulls up her sheet to cover her breasts and looks over her shoulder out of the canvas. Here, it is possible that we, the viewers, are the voyeurs.