‘Casta Susana’: el baño de Susana, voyeurismo y écfrasis en un soneto de Lope de Vega

This article explores the possibilities of the critical term ekphrasis as it is nowadays applied to the study of Golden Age Spanish literature. We study the appearance of the topic of Susanna and the Elders in Lope de Vega’s works, with a particular emphasis in a 1621 sonnet on the subject. After comparing Lope’s rendition of the biblical story to other versions by Italian, Flemish and Dutch painters of the time, we conclude that Lope’s sonnet is not only a moralistic satire, but a deep reflection on the nature of voyeurism, and its relationship to poetry and painting.