The subject can be interpreted in two ways: in a mythological one-so as the Toilet of Venus-or in a old-testamentary one-so as Bathsheba bathing. The first was a very common theme from the 16th century especially in the Venice environment. The second, instead, in a certain way can be considered as a “gene mutation” of the first, that is still an exaltation of beauty, an aesthetic pretxt to highlight the hypnotic value of the female human body.

Excerpt of the essay of the doc. Annalisa Scarpa in Sebastiano Ricci, Milan 2006, p. 263.