Susanna and the Elders 1913

Franz von Stuck’s ‘Susanna and the Elders’ is an oil on canvas, and it feels like the making of it was an act of slow revelation, building up a site of enquiry, for both the artist and the viewer. I imagine Stuck thinking about surface and skin, as I can almost feel him working on the modelling of Susanna’s body. The texture looks thin, creating these very soft gradations of light and shadow, with each brushstroke contributing to the overall composition. The gaze of the elders is palpable; do they represent his own internal conflicts, or society's gaze? This painting is a complex web of gazes, desires, and anxieties. It resonates with the Symbolist movement's exploration of inner psychological states, as well as its engagement with classical and biblical themes. It's like he is in conversation with artists like Edvard Munch, or Paula Modersohn-Becker. It offers a space for thinking, feeling, and seeing in new ways.