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Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini , Italian, 1675-1741

Title

Bathsheba

Datec.1708-1711

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions

127 x 101.3 cm

Credit LinePresented, Mr. John Orpin, 1897

Object numberNGI.467

DescriptionSamuel 2 11:2 it relates that one evening King David got up from his bed and walked onto the roof of his palace, probably to enjoy the cooler air. He appears here in the distance, holding the harp which he played, as he spies a beautiful woman washing herself. Despite learning that she was the wife of Uriah the Hittite, one of his military of?cers, he arranged to have her brought to him and they made love. She soon became pregnant, which, under Hebrew law, was punishable by death for both of them, so he arranged for her husband to be placed at the front of the army and killed. The initial encounter becomes here an excuse for a beautiful study of a nude woman admiring herself in a mirror, while the black page with an urn adds an exotic touch.
Pellegrini trained in Venice with Sebastiano Ricci and caught the eye of visiting British ambassador, the Earl of Manchester, who employed him, as did other members of the nobility, when he accompanied Ricci to England in 1708. Bright colours, attractive detail, swift execution and the lightness of a fresco achieved in oil, all made him popular. He spent between 1713 and 1719 on the Continent, then found himself overshadowed by Marco Ricci when he returned to England.

March 2016

Exhibition HistoryCentenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, October - December 1964

Label TextAs told in the Old Testament, King David, while walking on the roof of his palace one evening, saw a beautiful woman called Bathsheba bathing. She became his lover and, in his most dishonourable act, he arranged for her husband to be killed in battle. Pellegrini depicted Bathsheba admiring herself in a mirror. The bright, rich colouring and attractive detail reflect the influence of the Rococo style. The Earl of Manchester invited Pellegrini to Britain, where his colourful, decorative paintings enjoyed popularity among the nobility.