Susanna and the Elders (recto); Architectural design and other scribbles (verso). Artist: Giovanni Battista Pittoni (Italian, Venice 1687-1767 Venice). Dimensions: Sheet: 7 5/8 x 5 3/16 in. (19.4 x 13.1 cm). Date: ca. 1720.This small, energetic composition sketch in black chalk portrays the apocryphal Old Testament story of Susannah, here seen in voluptuous nudity on the right, being surprised at her bath by the two lecherous elders, whose figures are summarily indicated. The artist first rapidly and lightly sketched the overall composition, and then boldly reworked the outlines of the male figures with much greater pressure of the hand for tonal emphasis. Representing Pittoni's typical Rococo sensibility, the composition sketch appears to have been intended for a finished painting or print, and seems to be closely related to that of a sketch in the Museo Civico Correr, Venice (inv. 4338) and in the Fondazione Cini, Venice (inv. 30.252.) Several compositions of Susannah and the Elder