This dramatic portrait of Moses is by the Italian Renaissance artist Guido Reni (1565–1642), who was noted for the classical idealism of his renderings of mythological and religious subjects. In his religious and mythological paintings, Reni evolved a style that tempered baroque exuberance and complexity with classical restraint.
This image depicts Moses with the tablets containing the Ten Commandments, which he has just received from God on Mount Sinai. According to the Hebrew Bible, God speaks in his own voice from amidst clouds and smoke, delivering a system of the law for the Israelites. Reni’s tumultuous painting depicts the intensity of the divine revelation on Sinai.