David was instantaneously smitten with Bathsheba - he invited her to his palace chambers and proceeded to seduce and impregnate her.

[2] An eighteenth-century biographer went as far to make an explicit link of the style to that of the Bolognese painter Guido Reni.

[1] Some art historians have been positive about the painting - Keith Christiansen says it "demonstrates the sophisticated construction of one of Artemisia's most accomplished works".

[2] Letizia Treves writes that "Artemisia successfully met the challenge of composing a large scene with multiple in figures in different planes, producing one of the most accomplished works of her maturity.

[4] After passing through a series of Roman antique dealers, the painting was purchased by Colnaghi in 1962.