King David and Bathsheba

The Bible story of King David and Bathsheba is a story in which two of the most common human feelings play a role: jealousy and lust. The story goes as follows. Bathsheba, a beautiful woman, is married to Uriah, an army general. One day, Bathsheba was bathing in the palace gardens. David spotted her and was overwhelmed by her beauty. He could not control himself and seduced and impregnated her. To cover up for his, he decided to put Uriah on an unprotected position in the war fields so it was certain he would die. After Uriah died, he married Bathsheba and became the father of her child. 

Of this story, many paintings have been made. They can be divided into three categories: paintings in which Batsheba is the central figure and David is nowhere to be seen, paintings in which Batsheba is the central figure but David can be seen staring at her in the background and paintings in which David is the central figure. 

Sebastiano Ricci, Batsheba and her bath, 1725 - no David to be seen

Unknown painter - David is the central figure here

In the paintings in which Bathsheba is the central figure, she is always either completely or partially naked. When David is in the painting looking at Bathsheba, Bathsheba is not aware of that. Despite the fact that she looks at us, the spectators, in some paintings, she also does not seem to be aware of us looking at her. This goes against the theory of Berger, who argues that naked women in paintings are always aware of being looked at. 

Berger also argues that paintings of naked women are there to please the spectator. It is not about the sexuality of the portrayed women, but about the needs of the male spectator. However, in most of the paintings of Bathsheba, she comes across as a women who is very confident about her own body - she is not ashamed of being naked.  Especially the painting Rembrandt created of Bathsheba gives the spectator this impression.

Rembrandt van Rijn, The toilet of Batsheba, 1643

Berger argues that there is one category in which paintings of nude women are unable to please the spectator - that is when there is a special bond between painter and object. The love between them is so strong, the spectator is completely placed outside of that. That is what happens in another painting of this story by Rembrandt, for which he very likely used his wife Hendrikje Stoffels as a model. It is an intimate painting, portraying only Bathsheba and one servant. This painting is erotical in no way - Bathsheba is beautiful, but clearly not available to please a man and his sexual desires.

Rembrandt van Rijn, Bathsheba at her Bath, 1654