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The Finding of Moses by Orazio Gentileschi

The Finding of Moses by Orazio Gentileschi

In this vast canvas Orazio Gentileschi depicts the Old Testament story of the Finding of Moses (Exodus 2:2-10). When Pharaoh decreed that all newborn sons of Hebrews should be killed, the infant Moses was placed by his mother in a basket and hidden in bulrushes to ensure his safety.


Here, nine elegant female figures crowd around the basket at the heart of the composition. The woman in the magnificent yellow gown embellished with jewels is Pharaoh’s daughter. The diminutive figure kneeling respectfully at lower left is Moses’s sister Miriam, and beside her, dressed in red and white, is her mother.


The Finding of Moses was commissioned by Charles I of England for his wife, Queen Henrietta Maria, almost certainly to celebrate the birth of their son and heir, the future Charles II. It originally hung in the Queen’s House at Greenwich, on the banks of the River Thames. This location is reflected in the lush green landscape, which looks far more like England than Egypt where the story is set.

Details

Created
c. 1630
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimension
257cm × 301cm
Passage
Exodus 2:1-10

Found in: Exodus, Exodus 2, 17th century

Exodus 2:1-10

1 A man of the house of Levi went and took a daughter of Levi as his wife.

2 The woman conceived, and bore a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months.

3 When she could no longer hide him, she took a papyrus basket for him, and coated it with tar and with pitch. She put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank.

4 His sister stood far off, to see what would be done to him.

5 Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe at the river. Her maidens walked along by the riverside. She saw the basket among the reeds, and sent her servant to get it.

6 She opened it, and saw the child, and behold, the baby cried. She had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”

7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Should I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?”

8 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” The young woman went and called the child’s mother.

9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away, and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” The woman took the child, and nursed it.

10 The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”

Exodus 2:1-10 · World English Bible

The artist

Orazio Gentileschi

Orazio Gentileschi

1563 - 1639

Tuscany, Italy

Orazio Lomi Gentileschi (1563–1639) was an Italian painter. Born in Tuscany, he began his career in Rome, painting in a Mannerist style, much of his work consisting of painting the figures within the decorative schemes of other artists. After 1600, he came under the influence of the more naturalistic style of Caravaggio. He received important commissions in Fabriano and Genoa before moving to Paris to the court of Marie de Medici. He spent the last part of his life at…

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