Bathsheba at Her Bath by Rembrandt: Meaning & Story

Q: Where can I see Bathsheba at Her Bath?

It's at the Louvre in Paris. Rembrandt painted it in 1654, during a period of personal and financial difficulty. It's considered one of his most psychologically profound works.

Q: What is the painting's subject?

The Old Testament story of Bathsheba, who is bathing when King David sees her from his palace roof and summons her. Rembrandt shows Bathsheba holding David's letter, her expression troubled. She seems aware of what's coming: adultery, pregnancy, and the murder of her husband Uriah.

Q: Who modeled for Bathsheba?

Most scholars believe the model was Hendrickje Stoffels, Rembrandt's common-law partner. She lived with him from the late 1640s until her death in 1663. The intimacy and tenderness of the painting supports this identification. She was also condemned by the Dutch Reformed Church for living in sin with Rembrandt.

Q: How big is this painting?

It measures 142 cm × 142 cm (55.9 × 55.9 inches), a perfect square. The warm, golden light on Bathsheba's skin against the dark background is a hallmark of Rembrandt's mature Baroque style. The brushwork is looser and more expressive than his earlier, more polished technique.

Rembrandt rendered this Bathsheba at Her Bath in 1654, one of his most psychologically complex nudes. The scene comes from the Old Testament: King David spies Bathsheba bathing and summons her to his bed, setting off a chain of adultery and murder. But Rembrandt chose an unusual moment. Bathsheba holds David's letter, her expression troubled as she contemplates obeying a king or staying faithful to her soldier husband.

The model was likely Hendrickje Stoffels, Rembrandt's companion after his wife Saskia died. The same year this was painted, Hendrickje was called before the church council for "living in sin" with the artist. Their daughter Cornelia was born that year too. These real-life tensions may inform the painting's emotional weight.

X-rays reveal Rembrandt reworked the composition extensively. He originally painted Bathsheba looking sideways, perhaps watching David. In the final version her gaze drops, deepening her private anguish. The painting measures 142 by 142 centimeters and hangs at the Louvre, where art historian Simon Schama called it "the first depiction of a woman thinking."

It's at the Louvre in Paris. Rembrandt painted it in 1654, during a period of personal and financial difficulty. It's considered one of his most psychologically profound works.

The Old Testament story of Bathsheba, who is bathing when King David sees her from his palace roof and summons her. Rembrandt shows Bathsheba holding David's letter, her expression troubled. She seems aware of what's coming: adultery, pregnancy, and the murder of her husband Uriah.

Most scholars believe the model was Hendrickje Stoffels, Rembrandt's common-law partner. She lived with him from the late 1640s until her death in 1663. The intimacy and tenderness of the painting supports this identification. She was also condemned by the Dutch Reformed Church for living in sin with Rembrandt.

It measures 142 cm × 142 cm (55.9 × 55.9 inches), a perfect square. The warm, golden light on Bathsheba's skin against the dark background is a hallmark of Rembrandt's mature Baroque style. The brushwork is looser and more expressive than his earlier, more polished technique.

Rembrandt avoided the voyeuristic approach other artists took with this subject. Bathsheba isn't posed seductively. She's lost in thought, aware of the moral weight of the moment. That psychological depth, conveying an inner life through a single figure, was unusual for 17th-century Dutch Golden Age painting.

Bathsheba at Her Bath

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Where to See It

The Artist

More by Rembrandt van Rijn

The Apostle Paul

A Beggar Warming his Hands over a Chafing Dish

Jesus Disputing with the Doctors

An Old Man with a Large Beard

Also at Louvre, Paris

Artemis of Versailles

The Concert: Singer and Theorbo Player

The Combat of Mars and Minerva

Madonna and Sleeping Child with Three Angels

Related Baroque Works

Laocoön

The Laughing Cavalier

The Lacemaker

Woman Reading a Letter

Girl with the Red Hat

Girl with a Pearl Earring

Woman Holding a Balance

The Rokeby Venus

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