(Leiden 1606–1669 Amsterdam) 

Bathsheba holding King David’s Letter,
oil on canvas, 138 x 132 cm, framed, fragment of a Berlin (?) gallery number at lower right, with inventory number on the reverse side: N. 65

We are grateful to Gerd Bartoschek for his help in researching the possible provenance of the present painting.

The composition of this work is known through two further versions. Until 1945 there was a copy by the amateur painter, King Fredrick William I of Prussia (RKD, no. 112672), possibly an imitation of the present painting (see GK I 4267, Frederick William I, Bathsheba undressed for her bath, reading the letter, 1737, canvas, 155 x 133 cm, war loss [formerly at the Potsdam Town Palace]; inventory of the furniture depots at Berlin Palace, 1824, no. M 1267, Frederick William I, Susanna, canvas, 4‘11½“ x 4‘3 ½“ [156,2 x 135.4 cm]).

The second variant figured in the collection of Hermann Göring until 1945 (RKD, no. 102317), where it was considered to be by the hand of Willem Drost (according to a certificate by Max Friedländer quoted by the RKD) or Jan Lievens (according to the RKD, Sturla Gudlaugsson).

The present painting was previously unknown among scholars. It could be the model on which the other two better known versions depend. At the very least, there was an ‘original’ composition in Berlin, as a further, as yet unidentified, copy with different measurements was mentioned in the Charlottenburg inventories in 1705 with reference to the original model (see inventory, Charlottenburg Palace, 1705, no. 23: “The nude Bathsheba seated in front of the fountain, 4’11” x 3’2” [154.2 x 99.4 cm], the original of which is owned by His Majesty the King in Berlin”).

Therefore a painting, which at the time was considered an original, was already in the King’s collection at the start of the 18th century. The question remains open as to whether the present painting or the version once in the collection of Hermann Göring served as this model. The works are both of an equally high quality and, before the minimal reduction in size of the present painting, would have had very similar dimensions.

Based upon the first reference to the original in 1705 Gerd Bartoschek, who we thank for his assistance, has pieced together the further references in the Berlin inventory, and thus reconstructed a probable provenance for the painting offered here:

1705 City Palace, Berlin - reference in the Charlottenburg inventories 1705, no. 23;
1811 City Palace, Berlin - painting inventory, 1811 A (Berlin Palace), no. 1123, Anonymous, A seated nude female figure with a piece of paper – addendum to a list of paintings compiled by the restorer Beckly: ‘[…] in red and white garments, with vessels, etc. (without dimensions)’;
1816 and 1824 in the City Palace, Berlin - inventories of the furniture depots at Berlin Palace, 1816 and 1824, no. M 513, Anonymous, Susanna Bathing (1816, unframed, 1824 corrected into ‘Bathsheba’), canvas, 5’ x 4’3” (157 x 133.4 cm) – disposal R. 111 (then 583), no. 17;
1830 City Palace - Berlin. inventory, Berlin Palace, c. 1830, R. 583 (Brunswick Room), no. 17, Bathsheba undressed for her bath, reading the letter, life-sized figure (canvas), 5’ x 4’3” (157 x 133.4 cm), gilded frame, 5’1 ½” x 4’5 ¼” (160.9 x 139.2 cm);
1833 City Palace, Berlin - GK I 2476 (1883, Berlin Palace, probably depot), Copy after Titian?, Seated nude female figure, canvas, 157 x 130 cm, golden frame, 162 x 135 cm; after 1910 furniture depot, Charlottenburg Palace;
1926 transferred to the House of Hohenzollern

It has been suggested that the present painting could be by Jan Lievens, Govert Flinck, Jacob van Loo or Willem Drost.

Additional pictures
Different versions of the present composition: 
1) A copy of Frederick William I of Prussia (lost in the War), 
2) A version formerly in the Göring Collection