Finding of Moses by Pieter De Grebber, Exodus 2:1-10, Bible.Gallery
Finding of Moses created approximately 1632 nad was completed in 1634 Its dimension is 65.2cm wide and 86.2cm high and it was drawn with oil on panel style.
Artwork Description
On the banks of the Nile, a young woman gently offers the infant Moses to Pharaoh’s daughter, who reaches out to receive him. This poignant moment, drawn from Exodus 2:1–10, tells the story of Moses’ rescue. His Hebrew mother, fearing for his life during a brutal Egyptian campaign to kill all Hebrew baby boys, placed him in a basket and set him afloat on the river. Pharaoh, alarmed by the growing strength of the enslaved Israelites, had ordered the mass killing of their male children, declaring: “Every son who is born you are to cast into the Nile, and every daughter you are to keep alive” (Exodus 1:22). Pharaoh’s daughter, aware that the child was Hebrew, defied this cruel decree and took pity on Moses, adopting him and naming him because she had “drawn him from the water” (Exodus 2:10).
To Christians, this story held powerful meaning. It was seen as a foreshadowing of the Flight into Egypt, where Jesus escaped a similar massacre ordered by King Herod in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:13–15). For the Dutch in the 17th century, the story of Moses also resonated with contemporary history. Just as Moses led his people out of Egyptian bondage, the Dutch had recently liberated themselves from Spanish rule. William the Silent, the Dutch leader often compared to Moses, did not live to see the final victory, much like the biblical figure who died before entering the Promised Land.
In his painting *The Finding of Moses*, Pieter de Grebber stages the scene with quiet dignity. Nailed in warm light, the central figures are placed against a dark background. Most of the characters are shown in profile, arranged along a diagonal that runs from the water’s edge at the lower right to Pharaoh’s daughter on the left bank. This kind of compositional structure, with its frieze-like rhythm and strong narrative clarity, is characteristic of De Grebber’s early 1630s work, such as *Raising of Lazarus* (c. 1632, Galleria Sabauda, Turin) and *Moses Striking the Rock* (1630).
In contrast to De Grebber’s solemn portrayal, a contemporary depiction by an artist in Rembrandt’s workshop emphasizes the moment of discovery through the curious expressions and gesturing of female bathers who peer into Moses’ basket. While visually engaging, that version lacks the weight and spiritual focus of De Grebber’s interpretation, which centers on the moment of moral and symbolic significance: Moses’ elevation from a doomed child to a figure of destiny.
The *Finding of Moses* in The Leiden Collection appears to be unfinished. Compared with De Grebber’s other works of the same period, the background is unresolved, and the figures are painted with less detail. For example, *Moses Striking the Rock* is rendered with a refined finish that recalls the tactile, idealized style of De Grebber’s teacher, Hendrick Goltzius.
It’s likely that this painting was a commissioned work that, for reasons unknown, De Grebber never completed. In 1634, he created a more elaborate version of the subject, now in Dresden. That composition is larger, symmetrical, and modeled on the Italian Renaissance *Sacra Conversazione*, featuring Pharaoh’s daughter surrounded by European attendants rather than African ones. Its horizontal format and reversed composition show that it was not derived directly from the Leiden version. Instead, it marks a shift in De Grebber’s style from diagonal, frieze-like storytelling toward more centralized and hieratic arrangements.
A devout Catholic, De Grebber trained with Goltzius in Haarlem, adopting a classicizing style that emphasized harmony, beauty, and narrative clarity. He saw painting as both a craft and a discipline, governed by rules. These ideals attracted patrons such as Constantijn Huygens, who helped secure prestigious commissions, including the *Apotheosis of Frederik Hendrik* for Amalia van Solms in the Oranjezaal of Huis ten Bosch, completed in 1649.
De Grebber outlined his artistic principles in a broadsheet published in 1648 titled *Rules, which need to be observed and followed by a good draftsman and painter*. Several of these are clearly visible in *The Finding of Moses*. Rule three calls for the central action to occupy the most visually prominent part of the composition, which De Grebber achieved by bathing the infant’s presentation in radiant light. Rule seven states that figures should be emotionally and physically connected through gesture and gaze—something this painting accomplishes through the characters’ subtle yet deliberate interactions.
Together, the two versions of *The Finding of Moses* demonstrate De Grebber’s evolving approach to biblical storytelling: one frieze-like and linear, the other hierarchical and grand. Both reflect his commitment to classical ideals and his place within the refined and intellectually grounded tradition of Dutch Golden Age art.