Object Image

Moses Striking Water from the Rock

A crowd of Israelites gathers to observe a dramatic Old Testament miracle. After they wandered in the wilderness of the Sinai Desert without water, God saved them by instructing Moses to strike a rock with his staff, whereupon fresh water gushed out.

Jacob Jordaens conveyed the scene's drama through energetic motion and repetition. Using a characteristically Baroque sweeping horizontal composition, he effortlessly interwove human figures and animals into a frieze that follows from left to right, from anticipation--with jars and drinking vessels at the ready--to Moses' theatrical gesture. The figures' proportions and subtle foreshortening indicate that Jordaens intended the picture to be viewed...

c. 1645-1650
Oil on canvas
129.5 x 269.2cm
79.PA.136

Where you'll find this

The Getty Center
Permanent collection