Legend of Susanna

The tale is told in the Greek additions to the Book of Daniel. Two elders threaten to accuse the virtuous Susanna of adultery unless she gives in to them. She refuses, is condemned to death, and is saved only when a young prophet questions the two men separately and their stories fail to match. Here the whole affair plays out in one crowded courtyard of around 1520, among people dressed as townsfolk of that time. A shaft of light falls from the sky, and in the middle of the crowd a small boy in white spreads his hands, most likely Daniel himself. The Belvedere points out that such a picture did not need a church. A story of false witnesses and honest judging suited a private house or a town hall just as well, and the painter the museum names, Urban Görtschacher, served as a city judge in Villach.