Full title | Moses striking the Rock |
---|---|
Artist | Corrado Giaquinto |
Artist dates | 1703 - 1766 |
Series | Modelli for Frescoes in S. Croce in Gerusalemme, Rome |
Date made | 1743-4 |
Medium and support | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 136.5 x 95 cm |
Acquisition credit | Bought, 1987 |
Inventory number | NG6516 |
Location | Room 40 |
Art route(s) | C |
Collection | Main Collection |
According to the Old Testament Book of Exodus, the Israelites and their flock were thirsty after failing to find water during their long journey through Egypt. God instructed Moses to stand in front of the people with the elders of Israel and strike the rock of Horeb with his staff. A fresh stream of water gushed from the rock, enabling the Israelites and their animals to quench their thirst. Giaquinto shows the elderly Moses brandishing the miraculous staff. The delicate hues of his draperies harmonise with those of the figures in the foreground and contrast with the dull colour of the rocky landscape.
This is a modello, or highly finished painted study, for a fresco in the apse of the basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Rome. As with the related Brazen Serpent, also in the National Gallery, the dimensions are slightly larger than is usual for an oil sketch. This is probably so that the design could be approved by the Pope and the procurator of the Cistercian Order, Raimondo Besozzi, before its enlargement in fresco.
According to the Old Testament Book of Exodus, the Israelites and their flock were thirsty after failing to find water during their long journey through Egypt. They complained to Moses, blaming him for having taken them to the desert where they would die. Out of desperation, Moses asked God to intervene. God then instructed Moses to stand in front of the people with the elders of Israel and strike the rock of Horeb with his staff. A fresh stream of water gushed from the rock, and the Israelites and their animals quenched their thirst. This miracle was considered a prefiguration of the Christian Church’s spiritual refreshment of man.
Giaquinto shows the elderly Moses brandishing the miraculous staff, while the Israelites drink eagerly from their cupped hands and vessels. The delicate hues of his draperies harmonise with those worn by the figures in the foreground and contrast with the dull colour of the brown rocky landscape setting. Pools of light at the front and in the middle distance create a sense of depth in the picture. The grey clouds in the distance may indicate an impending storm – its rain and the miraculous stream would provide enough water for the Israelites to continue their journey.
This is a modello, or highly finished painted study, for a fresco in the apse of the basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Rome. As with the related Brazen Serpent, also in our collection, the dimensions are slightly larger than is usual for an oil sketch. This is probably so that the design could be approved by the Pope and the procurator of the Cistercian Order, Raimondo Besozzi, before its enlargement in fresco on the wall.
The National Gallery has other examples of painted sketches for frescoes in its collection. These include Luca Giordano’s modelli for the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence, and The Banquet of Cleopatra by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, who, like Giaquinto, worked both in Italy and in Spain.
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Modelli for Frescoes in S. Croce in Gerusalemme, Rome
These two paintings are modelli, or presentation pieces, for frescoes in the basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome. As part of the restoration of the church, which began in 1741, Giaquinto painted canvases for the nave’s ceiling and frescoes for the lower walls of the apse. In preparation for the commission, Giaquinto first painted bozzetti, or sketches, and then modelli for approval by the Pope and the procurator of the Cistercian Order, Raimondo Besozzi. The National Gallery has two of these modelli, featuring scenes of Moses’ miracles on his way to the Promised Land. The modelli enable us to reimagine the original colour scheme of the frescoes, which have been damaged by humidity and unsuccessful nineteenth-century restorations.
The relic of the True Cross brought back from the Holy Land by Helen, mother of the first Christian Roman Emperor (Constantine), provided the central subject of the church’s decorative scheme. The basilica had been built on the site of Helen’s villa, where the relics were originally housed.
These two paintings are modelli, or presentation pieces, for frescoes in the basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome. As part of the restoration of the church, which began in 1741, Giaquinto painted canvases for the nave’s ceiling and frescoes for the lower walls of the apse. Pope Benedict XIV promoted this initiative as part of the upcoming celebration of the Holy Year of 1750.
A fragment of the True Cross (the Cross on which Christ was crucified) was brought back from the Holy Land by Helen, mother of the first Christian Roman Emperor (Constantine). This relic, which was central to the basilica’s iconographical scheme, had previously been housed in the private chapel of Helen’s villa, on the site where Santa Croce was later built. The Cross features prominently in Corrado Giaquinto’s painted canvases adorning the nave’s ceiling, completed between 1744 and 1746, representing The Adoration of the True Cross on the Day of Judgement and Saint Helen and Constantine presented to the Holy Trinity by the Virgin Mary. The Adoration was painted on a large canvas, set into the nave’s wooden ceiling, and shows the apostles adoring the True Cross, as Constantine had done before his victory over Maxentius’s troops in AD 312. The other canvas, also set into the ceiling, is at the point of the nave’s crossing and features Saint Michael, Helen, Constantine and the Holy Trinity.
Giaquinto’s frescoes in the apse, which were painted ‘a secco’ – that is, on dry rather than fresh plaster (‘a fresco’) – feature scenes of Moses' miracles on his way to the Promised Land. In preparation for the commission, Giaquinto first painted bozzetti, or sketches, and then he produced modelli for approval by the Pope and the procurator of the Cistercian Order, Raimondo Besozzi. These modelli are the two paintings today in the National Gallery, and the related bozzetti are in the Prado, Madrid. The modelli enable us to recreate the original colour scheme of the frescoes, which have been damaged by humidity and unsuccessful nineteenth-century restorations.
After Giaquinto finished the commission, Pope Benedict XIV declared the basilica ‘a modern mess’ as other parts of the renovation project had been abandoned due to lack of funds. This meant that the decorative programme remained incomplete, and we have to look at Giaquinto’s later schemes, such as the work he did in the Spanish royal palaces in Madrid (where he worked from 1753), to give us an idea of what the overall effect might have been.


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