Existing comment:
Jan Steen
The Letter, ca 1660-70
Although Jan Steen is best known for comic portrayals of the Dutch society of his day, he also painted religious and allegorical themes. His works seem to reflect contemporary life even when the painting's subject is from the past. Thus, this apparently mundane picture of a woman reading a letter in a servant's presence actually depicts the Old Testament heroine Bathsheba poring over King David's letter of deceit. Steen is teaching the lesson that even great men such as David are not free from evil, and he poignantly illustrates it from the perspective of the woman his actions affected. |