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1 of 253523 objects
Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609-64)
Moses Striking the Rock c. 1640
Red-brown oil paint on paper | 40.3 x 56.5 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 904042
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A drawing of Moses striking a large rock with his staff, watched in amazement by a crowd of Israelites, including mothers with infants The Israelites were desperate with thirst during their wanderings in the desert. Moses called on God for help; he was told to strike a rock with his rod, whereupon water issued forth. In size, style and technique this drawing is a pair with Tobias Demanding the Moneys Owed to his Father (RCIN 904066). The seriousness of the subjects is belied by the graceful rhythms of the compositions and the elongated figures with mannered poses: these are operatic tableaux rather than dramas of life or death. A painting of the same subject is in the Walter P Chrysler collection, Virginia
Provenance
Probably Carlo II and Fernandino-Carlo Gonzaga, 9th and 10th Dukes of Mantua; Zaccaria Sagredo; from whose heirs purchased by Joseph Smith, British Consul in Venice, 1752; from whom purchased by George III, 1762
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Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Red-brown oil paint on paper
Measurements
40.3 x 56.5 cm (sheet of paper)
Object type(s)
