Susanna Bathing, Threatened by Two Elders

Susanna sits at the edge of a pool, her gaze directed upward as she is confronted by two older men leaning over a stone partition. A classical fountain featuring a stone putto flows into the basin beside her, while a lush garden with architectural features fills the background. The engraving uses fine hatching to detail the textures of skin, flowing hair, and the rough bark of the overhanging tree.

This work reflects the moral-philosophical concerns of the Haarlem Mannerists, specifically the Neoplatonic ideal of the 'intemerata mens' (undefiled mind) surviving worldly corruption. The accompanying verse by humanist Cornelis Schonaeus emphasizes that true chastity resides in a mind free of guilt, a concept central to the Stoic-Christian ethics prevalent in Goltzius's intellectual circle.