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The Toilet of Bathsheba

1643
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 616
Rembrandt shows the biblical figure Bathsheba completely nude, lost in a moment of contemplation and unaware that she is being observed by King David in the distant tower in the background. Many contemporary critics objected to Rembrandt’s realistic representation of the female body, declaring that the marks of garters could be seen on the legs of his figures from history or myth—see Bathsheba’s left calf here. Much of the picture is badly abraded from past cleaning, including the attendant arranging Bathsheba’s hair, who may have been intended to represent a woman of African descent.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Toilet of Bathsheba
  • Artist: Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) (Dutch, Leiden 1606–1669 Amsterdam)
  • Date: 1643
  • Medium: Oil on wood
  • Dimensions: 22 1/2 x 30 in. (57.2 x 76.2 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913
  • Object Number: 14.40.651
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

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David and Bathsheba
Jean Michel Moreau le Jeune
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
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Abraham Casting out Hagar and Ishmael, Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) Dutch, Etching with touches of drypoint
Abraham Casting out Hagar and Ishmael
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
1637
St. Jerome Reading, Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) Dutch, Etching
St. Jerome Reading
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
1634
Return of the Prodigal Son, Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) Dutch, Etching, pen and ink
Return of the Prodigal Son
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
1620–69
St. Jerome in Prayer, Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) Dutch, Etching
St. Jerome in Prayer
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
1635

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