Moses Striking the Rock
Artist: Abraham Bloemaert (Dutch, 1566–1651)
Original Dimensions: 31 3/8" x 42 1/2"
Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
About Artwork: (1596) "Contorted and elongated bodies writhe in reaction to life-giving water, which the Hebrew prophet Moses has summoned from a rock in the middle distance. This miracle saved his followers on their desert journey from Egypt. The rush of energy from the earth culminates in the principal figure, a woman holding a jug. Bloemaert has given her the sensuality of ancient pagan allegorical figures that represented water, thereby overlaying metaphorical representations of this natural element. In the Christian tradition, stories from the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament) foretell pivotal events from Jesus’s life; this miraculous appearance of water is understood to have prefigured the baptism of Christ." - (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

Panel content
Panel content