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Video: "The Discovery of Moses": Curious Plot and Wrong Authorship of Gentileschi's Painting
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
Popular in his day, the Italian artist is best known as the father of Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the few Baroque women artists who are equal in their achievements to men. Gentileschi himself managed to create a magnificent masterpiece "The Discovery of Moses". The National Gallery of London managed to redeem Orazio's painting after 20 years of lease!
About the artist
Although Orazio Gentileschi (1563-1639) is not as widely known today as his daughter Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1654), he was one of the leading figures in the Italian Baroque. He was born in Pisa to a family of artists. His life and career spanned the period from late Mannerism to the revolutionary style of Caravaggio, which Orazio briefly adopted in Rome. The mature works are characterized by a sophisticated "international" style, elegance and sophistication. Orazio has an international career working in Rome, Ancona, Fabriano, Genoa and Turin, as well as Paris and London.
While working for Queen Marie de Medici in Paris, Orazio met George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, who organized the wedding of Charles I and Henrietta Maria in 1625. Buckingham invited Orazio as court painter to the newly crowned Charles I. In 1630-1640, Orazio's daughter Artemisia came to London to help her ailing father paint the ceiling of the Queen's House. The following year, Orazio died of illness at the age of 76 and was buried in the queen's chapel at Somerset House.
Background of creation: the first version
In the same period, "The Discovery of Moses" was written, which is now kept in the National Gallery in London. Interestingly, the gallery has been presenting the masterpiece for 20 years on a long-term lease basis. And in 2019, the National Museum in London finally became the full owner of the Gentileschi painting, buying it for £ 22 million (this amount was collected through donations and charitable foundations).
The canvas was commissioned by Charles I, Britain's greatest royal patron of the arts, as a gift for his wife Henrietta Maria on the occasion of the birth of Charles II. “It was one of those paintings that Henrietta Maria kept with her in exile,” says Gabriele Finaldi, director of the National Gallery. So what makes this Old Testament scene popular? "It's a very feminine piece," he says, pointing to a group of women in the center. "The only man in the photo is Moses."
Gentileschi painted the painting for 12 years in London. It is significant that Orazio lived in the parish of St. Martin in the Fields, not far from the current National Gallery, where the famous painting hangs. At that time, the artist was very attracted to the Catholic circle of Henrietta Maria. And in the same city he was joined by his daughter, who came to help her 70-year-old father. The grand and magnificent painting thus holds an important place in British history, as it was painted during Gentileschi's 12-year residence in London.
Gentileschi was one of a trio of artists that Charles I invited to London. He, of course, was somewhat unlucky that two other masters - Van Dyck and Rubens - significantly surpassed their colleague and today are household names. The Discovery of Moses is set in the Baroque room next to Van Dyck's large painting Peace and War. Gentileschi has always been a tough competition for Rubens. Ironically, Orazio was buried in the old Somerset House under the altar, the crucifixion of which was painted by Rubens. However, these facts in no way diminish the significance, skill and talent of the artist Gentileschi.
After the execution of Charles I, the canvas was returned to his widow, Mary, to France in 1660. When the painting arrived in the Orleans collection half a century later, it was considered the work of Velazquez. Then the "Discovery of Moses" passed into the Castle Howard collection and was correctly identified only after the existence of the second version from the Prado became known in England.
Second version
Orazio created the story with the baby Moses in two versions. The first has already been mentioned above. But the second was written by Gentileschi as a gift to Philip IV of Spain. He sent the painting to the king in the summer of 1633, and personally delivered it to Madrid by Francesco, son of Orazio. The Royal Court ordered the painting to be hung in the Royal Alcazar in Madrid. Philip IV, being very pleased with the created work of art, ordered the payment of 900 ducats to Orazio. Today, the canvas adorns the walls of the Prado Museum in Madrid.
Plot
On this huge canvas, Orazio Gentileschi depicted the biblical story of the discovery of Moses (Exodus 2: 2-10), a popular theme in Baroque art. In the story, the baby Moses was placed by his mother in a basket and hidden in the reeds to ensure his safety. The fact is that the pharaoh issued a decree according to which all newborn sons of the Jews must be killed. While Moses' sister Miriam was hiding nearby, Pharaoh's daughter came to swim in the Nile River, accompanied by her ladies-in-waiting. Finding the baby in a basket, Pharaoh's daughter offered to take him to the palace. The painting depicts the moment when Miriam offers the baby Moses' mother as a nurse (she is depicted sitting on one knee in a white dress). Many art historians have suggested that the river on the right may represent the Egyptian Nile, while others still believe that it is similar to the Thames.
The splendor and extraordinary skill of "The Discovery of Moses" is characteristic of the artist's later style. The monumental scale of the painting (257 x 301 cm) and its historical significance set the "Discovery of Moses" apart from other works of the author.
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