Bathsheba

Frederick the Great bought this canvas in 1768 for the New Palace at Potsdam and had it fitted into the wooden panelling of the Upper Gallery, beside pictures by Guido Reni and Luca Giordano. It had come out of the Farnese collection, and he is thought not to have known that a woman painted it. Only in the early 20th century did researchers work out that this picture, and the one hanging next to it, were by Artemisia Gentileschi, who painted it around 1645 in Naples. Most of the canvas goes to Bathsheba on a terrace, arranging her hair in a mirror a servant holds up for her, another woman lifting a pearl necklace out of a basket beside her. Above and behind them, in a loggia, King David has caught sight of her and thrown up his arms, and none of the women has noticed. She is married to one of his officers. He will send for her, and later have the husband killed at the front. Still in their 1768 frames, the paintings went back on view on 16 July 2025, after the gallery had been shut for more than 30 years.