Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Ramblings on Bathsheba

Any who know me have probably heard me pontificate on the treatment of Bathsheba compared to David. We sing David's praises, name our boys after him, but consider Bathsheba something of a wanton. I love how Rembrandt tried to open his viewer's minds to the predicament Bathsheba was in. I love the expression he put on his Bathsheba (the later one painted that hangs in the Louve). X-ray study of the work shows that he reworked her expression many times. I think he mastered the look of dignity, anxiety and resignation. If you look closely at her face, her eyebrows are slightly raised as though she were holding back tears. He brought her figure so close to the edges of the painting that it makes me feel I am actually peering in at her nakedness and grief. She is not the purient paramoure often portrayed. She is the tragic figure I imagine when I read this story. I needed an outlet for these feelings after studying the painting again and hence the poem.

1 comment:

  1. your blog is hard to read. DEEP! bahahaha :P
    Hello Utah mom! i didn't know that you have a blog!

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