Pinacoteca
DON FERRANTE'S BOOKS IN THE BIBLIOTECA AMBROSIANA
An exhibition that aims at reconstructing the "considerable collection of books” belonging to Don Ferrante, which Alessandro Manzoni describes in the Promessi Sposi (The Bethroted).
In Chapter 13 of the book of the prophet Daniel, we find the story of Susanna, the lovely, honest woman who, as she takes her bath, is spied upon by two elders who lust after her. The object of wicked blackmail, unjustly accused and condemned to death, Susanna is miraculously freed by the prophet Daniel. The painting shows the moment when Susanna is surprised by the two wicked judges: the younger one, in the background, motions to the woman to keep quiet, while the older one shows her a medallion, as though trying to bribe her.