Bathsheba at Bath. Bathsheba at Her Bath is an oil painting by the Dutch artist Rembrandt finished in 1654.
A depiction that is both sensual and empathetic, it shows a moment from the Old Testament story in which King David sees Bathsheba bathing and, entranced, seduces and impregnates her. In order to marry Bathsheba and conceal his sin, David sends her husband into battle and orders his generals to abandon him, leaving him to certain death.
While the scene of David spying on Bathsheba had been painted by earlier artists, Rembrandt's depiction differs in its tight pictorial focus and erotic vitality, achieved through broad, thick brushstrokes and vibrant coloration. The painting hangs in The Louvre; it is one of 583 works donated by Dr. Louis La Caze in 1869.
For Kenneth Clark, the canvas is Rembrandt's greatest painting of the nude. Its insight into Bathsheba's moral dilemma has been described as one of the great achievements of western painting.
The Second Book of Samuel gives the account of King David who saw a woman bathing from his palace roof. When he asked after her, he was told that she was Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite. David had his messengers retrieve her, and after they slept together she became pregnant with his child. David was able to marry Bathsheba by sending Uriah into battle where he was killed. Prior to Bathsheba at Her Bath, the standard treatmen