Stanzione's painting of Susanna poses a notable contrast to most sixteenth- and seventeenth-century depictions of the subject, which commonly eroticize the story and sometimes even suggest a complicity on Susanna's part in her violation. Susanna appears as a formidable, even monumental, figure in the foreground. Gripping her drapery at her ankle, she endeavors to keep her lower body concealed as she bathes, and the nudity of her upper body seems less sexual than heroic. Instead of encouraging the viewer to join the elders (the conspiring interlopers in the background) in their voyeurism, the painting fosters a sympathy with the virtuous Susanna.