Bathsheba and Uriah 1490 - 1500

Editor: Here we have an anonymous woodcut print titled Bathsheba and Uriah. It’s quite small, only about 6 by 12 centimeters. The stark black lines create a very formal, almost rigid feel. What statements do you feel this piece is trying to make? Curator: It’s crucial to recognize how this work, though seemingly simple, participates in a long history of depicting female bodies and power dynamics. Do you notice how Bathsheba is positioned in relation to the king, and the gaze of the other figures? Editor: Yes, she's kneeling and seems to be the only woman in the foreground. Curator: Right. How might we consider this depiction of female submission within broader societal and political contexts of its time? How did such images reinforce or challenge existing power structures? Editor: I hadn’t thought about it that way. I was just focused on the historical narrative itself. Curator: Exactly! Examining these images through an intersectional lens opens up new ways of understanding not just the artwork but also the society that produced it.