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Oil on canvas
257 x 301 cm
Private Collection
Lent from a Private Collection
On display in Room 31
A magnificent painting by Orazio Gentileschi, 'The Finding of Moses' (1630-33), has been generously lent to the National Gallery from a private collection.
Gentileschi enjoyed extraordinary international success with several courtly royal patrons including Charles I. 'The Finding of Moses' was one of three paintings by Gentileschi commissioned by the king for his wife Queen Henrietta Maria in the early 1630s, to decorate the Great Hall of the Queen's House in Greenwich. The building, which can be visited today, was designed by Inigo Jones and completed in 1635. It was intended as a private retreat for the Queen and housed fine classical statuary and paintings by Rubens and Jordaens.
This large, striking picture shows nine women clad in rich and colourful fabrics. Their expressive, stylised gestures are theatrical and reveal their surprise at finding Moses amongst the bulrushes. The kneeling girl on the left draws us to the infant Moses who is at the centre of the composition. The landscape to the right has a particularly English flavour, recalling perhaps the view across the Thames towards Greenwich Park. The subject of the painting, the discovery of the child by Pharaoh's daughter, may have been a reference to the recent birth of the Prince of Wales, the future Charles II. Born in Pisa, Gentileschi settled in Rome in 1576.
Coming from a family of artists he trained in the studio of one of his uncles. Gentileschi's career was sparked by his friendship with Caravaggio, whom he met about 1600. This marked a sudden change in his style, influenced by the latter's fierce naturalism and dramatic use of light. He became one of Caravaggio's closest and most gifted followers.
After a decade working in Rome, Gentileschi moved to the Marches before establishing himself in Genoa in 1621. In 1624 he left for Paris where he worked until 1626 for Marie de' Medici before moving to London. He lived in the Duke of Buckingham's residence at York House, on the site of the present-day Charing Cross Station, and was buried in the Queen's Chapel at Somerset House.
'The Finding of Moses' was sold by the Commonwealth following the execution of Charles I in 1649. In 1660, as part of the restoration of royal property, it was returned to Henrietta Maria, who by then was living in exile in France. From there it entered the collection of the dukes of Orleans and in 1798 it was sold in London to the 5th Earl of Carlisle who hung it at Castle Howard, Yorkshire. The picture was sold at Sotheby's in 1995 and acquired by the present owner.
This painting will be on display at the Gallery until 2005
For Public Enquiries please quote General Information number for Tel: 020 7747 2885
Nov 2002
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