Susanna and the old men

The painting from the collection of the Lubomirski family, former owners of the castle, was brought to Łańcut on the order of Princess Marshal Lubomirska from Wilanów. The painting depicts a nude young woman, bashfully shielding herself from the lewd advances of two men. The scene is set in a garden by a fountain with water flowing from it. This is an illustration for an event described in the 13th chapter of the Book of Daniel from the Old Testament: a beautiful virtuous woman, the wife of Joachim, went into the garden to bathe in a pool (here a fountain). After her servants were dismissed, she was left alone, unaware that she was being watched by two old men who began to urge her to sin. Susanna refused, at which point the men threatened her that they would inform the people that she had committed adultery with them. The woman did not yield to them or their persuasions and relied on the will of God, the true judge. As she was being led to be executed (the penalty for adultery for a woman in Israel was death by stoning) God “sent” the prophet Daniel to investigate and show that both men were lying. Having separated them from each other he asked them one question – what tree they had seen Susanna committing adultery under – they both gave different answers, naming a different tree, and on this basis the prophet proved them a liar. Susanna was set free and praised as virtuous, while the old men were sentenced to death . This scene was often depicted by painters and writers, not only because of its moral, didactic or religious values – the justice of God and the just punishment for perjury. In this way, the artists could show the beauty of the naked female body without risking unpleasantness, after all they were only illustrating a biblical scene. A painting from the Italian school, probably painted by Bartolomeo Litterini in the late 17th century. The painting is exhibited in the Parade (Red) Corridor on the first floor of the Łańcut Castle.