Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts

Book of Hours
Netherlands, Utrecht, 1500-1510
MS M.166 fol. 109v

See more information »

David and Bathsheba: Bathsheba bathing -- Bathsheba, nude, wearing fillet and necklace, with cloth draped on her left arm and held in right hand, stands in pool at base of fountain, with column topped by lion with water streaming from its mouth. Two maidservants, wearing headdresses, one holding mirror and the other kneeling and holding bowl of fruit (?), stand beside pool. In background is palace, with David witnessing scene from second-floor window. In distant background is David kneeling below God, in arc or cloud in sky.
Margins with strawberries, and vinescroll inhabited by winged dragon and half-figure of wild man, with shield in left hand and raised club in right hand, facing fantastic animal.