Susanna e i vecchioni / / Peter Paul Rubens

The woman sits in the middle of the dark forest and waits. She clutches the silky white sheet wrapped around her body and tries desperately to quiet her breathing so her pursuers cannot find her in the shadows. Her hair is all undone, soft and fair. Her presence is like an innocent light that feebly tries to combat the darkness looming all around her. She waits for what seems like an eternity. Finally, she lets a sigh escape her. Within seconds her two male followers creep up behind her and lunge at her, one with his finger pressed menacingly to his lips, the other one’s black hair and beard amplifying the sinister mask of the black night sky. She is taken by surprise, her eyebrows raised in alarm as the men rush to her, the blanket coming loose and exposing all of her soft beautiful skin. Her face becomes flushed as she raises her arm to protect herself; she will have to put up a fight. Terror washes over her voluptuous body as she disappears into the blackened trees.