Susanna og de ældste 1602

Curator: This is Jan Saenredam’s 1602 engraving, “Susanna and the Elders,” currently residing at the SMK, Statens Museum for Kunst. Editor: Oh, my goodness, it’s intense! Even in this delicate medium, there’s such a heavy, leering atmosphere. That woman is radiating discomfort. Curator: Precisely. The engraving depicts the biblical story of Susanna, a virtuous woman spied upon by two elders while bathing. It's a classic tale, but Saenredam, working in the Mannerist style, gives it a particularly...charged treatment. Editor: Charged is an understatement. Her posture! The way she pulls the cloth around her, attempting modesty even as they brazenly impose. It screams vulnerability. And those old men look almost predatory, right? The blatant power imbalance is…disturbing. Curator: Absolutely. And let's look at the fountain in the background. The cupid-like figure urinating...it is supposed to evoke ideas around "unchaste lust". It is such a bold visual contrast to the setting behind her with its promise of peace and tranquility. Editor: It also makes me think about the historical context, the patriarchal structures at play. Susanna’s virtue becomes a battleground. She’s trapped between male gaze and male authority. Her personal autonomy is nonexistent; everything she does and every space she occupies is monitored, judged, controlled. Curator: And of course, she has to withstand their threat. She's alone in defending her honour. In essence, Saenredam's "Susanna" gives us a really visceral sense of the dangers and judgments faced by women at that time, something all too prevalent throughout history. Editor: It’s still incredibly resonant today, isn’t it? That constant scrutiny, the threat of judgment...Saenredam, through this finely detailed engraving, holds up a mirror to anxieties that persist centuries later. Curator: It does invite a moment of personal contemplation on virtue, agency, and exploitation in the contemporary landscape.