Museum Gouda is organizing an exhibition about Susanna and the Elders. In this biblical story (Daniel 13:1-64), two powerful men try to blackmail Susanna as she takes a bath. When she does not give in to their advances, they accuse her of being unfaithful. Susanna refuses and is indeed brought to trial, but Daniel’s intervention prevents her conviction. In other words, Me Too avant la lettre.
This relatively unknown biblical story has become world famous because Susanna has been recorded countless times in the history of art. From Rembrandt van Rijn and Artemisia Gentileschi to contemporary artists, she has been portrayed as a victim, a model of piety and virtue, or even a sex symbol.
The exhibition is a follow-up to the successful show at the Walraff-Richartz Museum in Cologne, which also included Joachim Wtewael’s Susanna from the collection of Museum Gouda.