ABSTRACT
Bathsheba. She who was seen. Should not have been seen. She who is perceived. From afar.
She whom we see is not the mortal object. Not the object of desire, and of murder. It is Bathsheba in truth. The non-nude nudity. Not denuded. Not undressed. Clean,
characteristic. Absolute Bathsheba. Without a man. Can we imagine seeing her: ‘David
and Bathsheba’? (The name Bathsheba invokes David-but not this woman, here, no.)
2. This is Bathsheba. The dark surroundings must be what’s left of David. This sort of blackness? … If there is a couple, a pair in the painting, indeed it would be day and night.
