Susanna en de ouderlingen 1580 - 1625

Curator: Ah, what an intriguing scene. We're looking at an engraving titled "Susanna en de ouderlingen," or "Susanna and the Elders." It's attributed to Jan van Londerseel and was likely created sometime between 1580 and 1625, part of the Dutch Golden Age. Editor: The immediate impression? Kind of unsettling, really. All that idyllic landscape...but then you notice the figures clustered around the fountain. It’s got a very secretive feel, like we're peering into something we shouldn’t be seeing. Curator: That tension is key to understanding it. The story of Susanna is from the Book of Daniel, found in the Catholic and Orthodox Old Testaments. It's a morality tale where Susanna, a virtuous woman, is spied on by two elders while bathing. When she refuses their advances, they falsely accuse her of adultery. Editor: So the landscape almost acts as a visual lie? This beautiful, serene place…but corrupted by these men and their lecherous intent. It’s clever how the artist uses the natural setting, these looming trees and carefully placed structures, to heighten that feeling of entrapment. I wonder what that cityscape represents in the background, like a golden cage. Curator: Absolutely. Notice how the artist positions us, the viewers, almost as accomplices, peeking from behind the trees, voyeuristically participating in their deceit. The city might represent civilization and order corrupted. Even the animals seem disturbed. Do you see the deers over there? Editor: Ominous… they add a vulnerability that echoes Susanna’s position. So much for Eden then! It does make you consider the cultural weight put on women, then and even now, where they’re so easily subjected to unwanted scrutiny. Curator: Precisely. The symbols work together to highlight those concerns. Susanna, caught in the crosshairs of male desire and power. The print reminds us of art’s historical role not only in representation but in encoding complex moral lessons. It reveals the gaze as not just visual but as an exercise of control. Editor: Yeah, and like many engravings, this piece becomes a potent reminder about perspective—both in terms of vanishing points, and our roles as spectators. Always more layers to peel back, the older I get... Curator: Indeed. Jan van Londerseel used that gaze and narrative power to encourage viewers to reflect upon justice and morality, through a familiar biblical tale, that resonates even today.