Petrarch’s Triumphs – Sheet 40v
David and Bathsheba: Desire, Power, Lies, and Death
21 x 32.5 cm reproduction of sheet 40v of Petrarch's Triumphs with David, Bathsheba and Uriah: miniature from Vienna Codex 2581 in a limited and numbered edition with gold decorations A miniature that can be seen through the eyes This card doesn't just depict a biblical episode: it tells an entire sequence, almost like a political thriller illuminated in the early 16th century. In a single sheet, the illuminator concentrates David observing Bathsheba, the ritual nudity of the woman immersed in water, the letter entrusted to Uriah, and the battle in which the soldier is sent to his death. Time moves forward within the image. The gaze descends to Bathsheba's bath, ascends to David's balcony, encounters the scene of the letter, and arrives at the military clash. The knight in golden armor who appears before the king and then in battle is identifiable as Uriah: first an unwitting messenger, then a victim of the secret order. The back completes the reading. The text page, under the heading "d'amour," reflects on the love that leads to lies and condemns falsehood as a moral sin. The front and back thus interact perfectly: the image depicts desire, deception, and death; the text reveals the profound theme of lies generated by love.Want more information about this product? Click here and fill out the form to be contacted by one of our curators.
149,00 €
- Description
Description
Description
The map reproduces folio 40v of Francesco Petrarca’s Triumphs, Codex 2581, now held at the Austrian National Library in Vienna. The scene belongs to the Triumph of Love cycle, in which biblical, historical, and legendary figures appear vanquished by the power of love, passion, and destiny.
The subject is the story of David, Bathsheba, and Uriah. David, king of Israel, sees Bathsheba bathing. Bathsheba is the wife of Uriah the Hittite, a loyal soldier in the king’s army. From that glance begins a chain of events that the miniature recounts with extraordinary effectiveness: desire, an attempt to cover up guilt, the deception of the letter, and her husband’s death.
The image’s construction is particularly refined because it represents not a single instant, but a continuous narrative. Below, next to a golden fountain, Bathsheba is knee-deep in water and holds a transparent veil in her hands. Her figure dominates the center of the composition. To the left, David leans over the balcony: the gesture of his hand and the inclination of his body indicate the moment of gaze, the instant when the story begins to unfold.
Higher up, above the pergola, the narrative makes a leap in time. David appears with the scepter before Uriah, recognizable by his golden armor. Between the two appears the letter. According to the biblical story, this letter contains the order sent to commander Joab: to place Uriah at the most dangerous point of the battle and leave him to die. This detail is dramatic because Uriah becomes the unwitting messenger of his own doom.
Even higher up, in the background, the story reaches its conclusion. The same knight in golden armor is overwhelmed in the battle. The gold of the armor allows us to follow Uriah through the sequence: first before the king, then into battle. In a single miniature, cause and consequence, private scene and public tragedy, desire and crime coexist.
Bathsheba: Beauty, Rite, and Vulnerability
The figure of Bathsheba is one of the most daring elements on the card. In an illuminated manuscript from the early 16th century, the choice to depict a nude woman, placed at the center of the composition and with her body so clearly exposed, possesses a surprising visual force. The transparent veil covers her body without actually covering it and accentuates the figure’s delicacy, transforming her into the luminous center of the scene.
The meaning becomes even deeper when read in the biblical context. Bathsheba is bathing, but this gesture has ritual significance: she is taking a purification bath prescribed by Jewish law after her menstrual cycle. The scene therefore arises from an act of purity, intimacy, and religious observance. This is precisely what reinforces the moral contrast: Bathsheba’s private and ritual moment is intercepted by David’s gaze and transformed into the beginning of tragedy.
The protagonist’s nakedness is beauty, but also vulnerability. Bathsheba’s body, exposed to the king’s gaze, becomes the pivotal point of the entire narrative sequence: desire, adultery, the concealment of guilt, the death letter, and Uriah’s downfall. The moral responsibility for the catastrophe, however, lies with David: he is the one who watches, desires, summons, lies, and commands.
The back of the card: love, lies and moral judgment
The back is not simply a secondary page. The page contains a manuscript text in Old French under the rubric “d’amour.” The passage reflects on the love that leads to lying and recalls the episode of Abraham, driven to lie by fear and love. The page continues with a moral condemnation of falsehood and cites a powerful Latin formula: “Mendacium est per se ipsum improbrum ac vituperatione dignum,” meaning that lying is in itself reprehensible and worthy of blame.
This textual element engages in a surprising dialogue with the illuminated front. David desires Bathsheba and constructs a pretense to cover up his guilt; the back reflects precisely on the love that drives one to lie. The object thus becomes a small narrative and moral diptych: both image and word tell the dark side of love when it becomes secret, possessive, and ruinous.
David’s letter to Uriah
One of the most striking details of the miniature is the letter. In 2 Samuel 11:14-15, David writes to commander Joab and orders Uriah to be placed in the front lines, at the most critical point of the battle, and then for the other soldiers to retreat, so that he may be struck down and die. The message is entrusted to Uriah himself.
This passage lends the scene an almost spy-story-like tension: the loyal soldier unknowingly carries with him the decree of his own death. This is why the letter is the true dramatic object of the letter. A small sheet of paper encapsulates the transformation of desire into crime, of authority into abuse, and of war into an instrument of elimination.
The history of the manuscript
The codex from which this card derives belongs to one of the most fascinating illuminated cycles dedicated to Petrarch’s Triumphs. The work testifies to Petrarch’s French popularity: the text is in a French translation attributed to Simon Bougouyne, and the manuscript is divided into two volumes, today identified as Cod. 2581 and Cod. 2582 at the Austrian National Library in Vienna.
The manuscript’s ownership history is prestigious and itinerant. The codex initially belonged to René II of Lorraine, then passed into the collection of Eugene of Savoy, and in 1738 entered the library of Emperor Charles VI. During the Napoleonic era, it was taken to France in 1808 and returned to Vienna in 1814. From the courts of Lorraine to Imperial Vienna, up until the Napoleonic period, Codex 2581 spanned centuries of European history.
Product Features
- Opera: Petrarch’s Triumphs
- Author: Francesco Petrarca
- Period of the original manuscript: 16th century / early 16th century
- Subject of the card: David and Bathsheba, with Uriah and the death letter
- Reference sheet: 40v
- Original code: Cod. 2581
- Library of the original: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna
- Iconographic cycle: Triumph of Love
- Translation: French, attributed to Simon Bougouyne
- Front: Full-page miniature with David, Bathsheba, Uriah and the battle
- Back: Old French manuscript text under the heading “d’amour”
- Dimensions: Width 21 cm x height 32.5 cm
- Type: Collectible illuminated card
- Edition: Limited and numbered edition of 199 copies
- Material: Special paper
- Print: Fine art with gold decorations
- Attachments to the work: Certificate, guarantee, conservation instructions, brief description of the work
- Warranty: 24 months
Why buy it?
This paper is designed for those seeking an object that will catch the eye and capture the imagination. In the vertical 21 x 32.5 cm format, the scene takes on a presence: the gold of the frame, Bathsheba’s luminous body, the letter delivered to Uriah, and the battle in the background become details to be observed up close, almost traversed by the eyes.
It’s not just a decorative reproduction, but a collectible narrative page: it narrates desire, power, deception, and destiny with the visual force of a Renaissance illuminated manuscript. Hung, framed, or kept, it brings an ancient story into a personal space that continues to surprise those who view it.
The limited and numbered edition of 199 copies, the fine art print and the gold decorations make it an ideal choice for collectors, enthusiasts of Petrarch, illuminated manuscripts, Renaissance art and cultural objects of great personality.
Want to know the story behind this miniature?
The scene of David and Bathsheba contains one of the most intense stories in the Old Testament: desire, power, lies and loyalty intertwine in a surprisingly modern narrative.
We have dedicated a comprehensive study to folio 40v of Petrarch’s Triumphs, analyzing the miniature, the Vienna Codex 2581, and the symbolic meaning of its details.
👉 Read the article on David and Bathsheba in Petrarch’s Triumphs
FAQ – Petrarch’s Triumphs, sheet 40v
The card depicts the story of David, Bathsheba, and Uriah. Multiple moments are concentrated in a single miniature: Bathsheba bathing, David observing her, the exchange of the letter with Uriah, and the battle in which the soldier is killed.
The miniaturist arranges the episodes across multiple visual registers. Time unfolds from Bathsheba’s bath to the king’s decision, from the letter entrusted to Uriah to the battle. The page functions as a continuous, almost cinematic narrative.
The knight in golden armor is Uriah. The same armor allows us to recognize him both in the scene of the exchange of letters and in the battle in the background, where his destiny is fulfilled.
According to the biblical story, David entrusts Uriah with a letter to Joab. The message orders him to be stationed at the most dangerous point of the battle and to withdraw the other soldiers, so that he may be struck down and die.
David had desired Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, and she had become pregnant. Uriah’s death served to cover up his guilt and free the king from the public consequences of his actions. The story illustrates the transition from private desire to abuse of power.
Bathsheba holds a transparent veil or a very light washcloth in her hands. The veil doesn’t actually hide the body, but rather accentuates the delicate figure and the visual centrality of the scene.
Yes. According to the biblical story, Bathsheba is taking a ritual purification bath after her menstrual cycle. This detail makes the scene even more intense: the gesture is one of purity, intimacy, and religious observance, but David’s gaze transforms it into the beginning of tragedy.
Bathsheba’s nudity is the visual fulcrum of the composition. In an illuminated manuscript from the early 16th century, the choice to depict a naked woman, her body so clearly exposed, has a surprising power. It’s not just beauty: it’s vulnerability before the gaze of power.
The back retains the manuscript text in Old French under the rubric “d’amour.” The passage reflects on the love that leads to lies and morally condemns falsehood. This creates a strong dialogue with the scene on the front, where David constructs the deception that will lead Uriah to his death.
The map is derived from Francesco Petrarca’s Trionfi, folio 40v of Codex 2581, preserved at the Austrian National Library in Vienna. This is a limited and numbered reproduction, not an original 16th-century manuscript.
