Like nearly every biblical scholar who has to write on Genesis 1-3 at some time or other, it seems like artists can’t resist David and Bathsheba. So, to select the best out of a massive collection and to practice for judging the Blake Prize, some of the better efforts.

To begin with, the purely sensuous:

And then the intriguing:

But notice how artists can’t help themselves by focusing on Bathsheba. So one or two returning the gaze and looking at David:

Then again, we can always have some fun with Mr Rembrandt:

Ah well, Britney …

There’s always the literalists, concerned with Bathsheba ‘bathing’:

And of course our trusty Brick Testament:

But let us cut to the chase and ask what was really going on:

NB: since this is a family blog, I have opted to censor some of the, um, more raunchy pieces of art.