Giovanni Battista Pittoni
David and Bathsheba
Artist
Giovanni Battista Pittoni
( Venice, 1687-Venice, 1767 )
Details
Oil on canvas 74×63.5 cm (29 1/8 x 25 in) Inscriptions: inscribed on the reverse in alate eighteenth-century hand: “PITTONI”. Approved by Prof. George Knox, Prof. Dario Succi and Prof. FilippoPedrocco
Provenance
Miami (USA), private collection
Ehibition
La Pittura Eloquente, Monte-Carlo, Maison d’Art, 16 June–16 July 2010, n. 23.
Literature
D. Succi and F. Pedrocco in La Pittura Eloquente, exh. cat., Maison d’Art, Monte-Carlo 2010, n. 23,pp. 123-126, illus. p. 125.Standing on the terrace of his palace, King David has caught the first glimpse of the beautifulBathsheba, wife of his general Uriah. While Bathsheba finishes her bath, accompanied bymaidservants, the king immediately sends a messenger to invite her to the palace, having fallenhopelessly in love. The scene was painted innumerable times by Venetian painters, and of the manyeighteenth-century versions of the subject, Giambattista Pittoni’s stands out not only for its excellentpictorial quality, but also for its precise adherence to the narrative as described in the Bible (Samuel2:11-12). Harp in hand, David appears on theterrace of a palace that recalls the painted architectureof Veronese. As in traditional iconography, he looks down to admire a very young and sensualBathsheba who has just emerged from the water. Behind her a maidservant is about to cover hershoulders with a blue mantle, and she faces another who holds a platter containing the precious pearlnecklace intended for the young bride of Uriah. The woman’s attention is distracted by the arrival ofKing David’s black servant, an extremely elegant figure clothedin blue livery and red mantle andbearing the letter containing Bathsheba’s invitation to the palace.It is interesting that this image corresponds precisely to the description of a work by Pittoni listed inthe catalogue of the Pinelli collection in Venice. The Pinelli picture was assessed by DomenicoMaggiotto and Davide Antonio Fossati and offered for sale in 1785: “Bathsheba bathing, with twofemale servants, one holding a mantle and the other proffering a cassettina [small chest] with pearls.There isalso a moor presenting a letter to her.