Cornelius Van POELENBURGH 1594-1667 Bathsheba

Attributed to Cornelius Van POELENBURGH Born in 1594 in Utrecht, Cornelius Van Poelenburgh died in 1667. Oil on copper, old varnish cleaned.. dimensions: 27 x 24 cm and 40 x 37 cm Bathsheba, wife of Uriah the Hittite, officer in King David's army, sits naked after her bath, a veil placed on her thighs. A young woman on her knees dries her feet while Bathsheba's bust is turned towards the messenger of King David who desires her and wants her as his wife, resigned she will end up consenting to his request. She wears a diadem and fine pearls in her ears, her white body in the center of the painting contrasts with the shaded landscape. A magnificent fountain sculpted with putti brings the fresh water for Bathsheba's bath. On the balcony of his palace, King David admires the woman who would become his wife after the death of Uriah, killed in battle during an attack commanded by Joab. The painter Cornelius Van Poelenburgh painted many small, highly refined landscapes on copper, ours is an example, a biblical theme, where people, architecture and nature are intertwined. Cornelius Van Poelenburgh trained with Abraham Bloemaert, a Mannerist painter in Utrecht, and left for Rome in 1617 to complete his apprenticeship. He stayed there for 10 years, greatly influenced by Paul Bril and Adam Elsheimer. His Italian landscapes were a great success; he was part of the first generation of Dutch Italianate landscape painters. In Florence, he worked for Grand Duke Cosimo II de Medici. Upon returning to Utrecht, he created a studio and surrounded himself with many students, including Daniel Vertangen, Dirck Van der Lisse and Jan Van Haensberge. His small ceremonial paintings earned him recognition from the authorities. "The Banquet of the Gods on Earth" was acquired and then given to the wife of Frederick Henry of Orange-Nassau, Amalia Van Solms. Rubens, passing through Utrecht, also bought some of his works in 1627. He then went to England to work for King Charles I regularly. Museums: Utrecht, Florence, The Louvre, Getty Museum, etc.