French school of the 18th century

French school of the 18th century.
"Susanna's bath". Fragment or sketch for "Susanna and the old men".
Chalk and sanguine on laid paper.
With watermark.
Measurements: 28 x 15 cm.

We see in this sanguine the theme of Susanna in the bath, story narrated in the Old Testament, specifically in the Book of Daniel. It belongs to the Greek version of the Bible, known as Septuagint, whose origin dates back to the third century B.C. Susanna was a beautiful and chaste woman, wife of Joachim, a rich Jew of the Babylonian Exile. She is seen and desired by two elders who had been appointed judges among the Jews in exile; both agree to surprise her alone and convince her to give herself to them. In the version most widespread in the art of the story, this occurs during the young woman's bath. Susanna, however, confronts the elders, and tells them that she prefers death to sin. The men, seeing themselves rejected, accuse Susanna of adultery, and she is brought to trial, where they falsely testify against her. At the prominence of her accusers, Susanna is condemned to death by stoning. However, on the way to her death the prophet Daniel, who is then only a child, stops the popular procession and rebukes the people for acting without full knowledge of the cause, and asks to separate the two elders for intelligent questioning. The two false witnesses then fall into contradiction in their statements, and are condemned to death instead of Susanna.