Bathsheba

By 1640 Artemisia Gentileschi was probably the most sought-after woman painter in Europe, running a busy workshop in Spanish-ruled Naples and sending pictures to collectors across the continent. Bathsheba was a subject she painted more than once in these years. The story is a hard one. From his rooftop King David sees another man's wife bathing and sends for her. Gentileschi keeps David small and distant on his balcony and gives the whole foreground to Bathsheba and the servants who dress her hair and carry her linen, the cool weight of the fabrics, the calm of a world of women. She catches the moment just before the messenger arrives, when nothing has happened yet.