Susanna en de ouderlingen 1598 - 1665

Giovanni Battista Mola created this delicate rendering of “Susanna and the Elders” using pen and brown ink, heightened with white, over black chalk. Notice how Mola uses a complex arrangement of figures and forms to draw our eyes across the scene, yet the whole composition is anchored by the solid architectural elements to the right. The nude Susanna is rendered with soft contours and gentle shading, contrasting with the angular, almost caricatured features of the elders. The interplay of light and shadow is particularly striking: the light source seems diffuse, creating a soft glow that illuminates Susanna while casting the elders in a more ambiguous light. Is Mola perhaps using these visual cues to comment on the themes of voyeurism and power dynamics inherent in the biblical story? What do you make of the formal qualities of the piece?