Full title | The Israelites gathering Manna |
---|---|
Artist | Niccolò Pisano |
Artist dates | 1470 - about 1536 |
Series | Two Scenes from the Story of Moses |
Date made | probably 1500-3 |
Medium and support | Glue tempera on linen |
Dimensions | 119.3 x 78.7 cm |
Acquisition credit | Layard Bequest, 1916 |
Inventory number | NG3103 |
Location | Not on display |
Collection | Main Collection |
According to the Book of Exodus, the Israelites, having escaped slavery in Egypt, feared famine as they wandered the desert. They complained to Moses, so God sent down a heavenly food, manna, which fell from the sky each morning but melted in the sun. Here, they gather the manna up into pots, jars, bowls and even pinafores.
This painting on linen canvas – a rare survival from the Renaissance – was probably originally in a small chapel or oratory in Ferrara, or possibly in the house of one of the Jewish community there. It is one of a group of eight similar paintings showing subjects from Genesis and Exodus, two of which are in the National Gallery’s collection.
Given the fragility of painting on linen, both this and The Dance of Miriam are in reasonable condition, although they were probably originally brighter: both are covered with surface dirt and some of the pigments have deteriorated. A distinctive feature of both is the copious amount of finely applied gilding, which would have shone by candle light.
According to the Book of Exodus, the Israelites, having escaped slavery in Egypt, feared famine as they wandered the desert. When they began to complain to Moses and Aaron, God spoke to Moses: ‘Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no’ (Exodus 16: 4).
In this painting on linen canvas, a rare survival from the Renaissance, the Israelites are gathering the promised manna – a strange, white substance tasting of wafers made with honey, which fell from the sky each morning but melted in the sun. Moses and Aaron stand on the left, overseeing their people’s activity as they gather the heavenly food into pots, jars, bowls and even pinafores. This picture was probably originally in a small chapel or oratory in Ferrara, or possibly in the house of one of the Jewish community there: it was one of a group of eight similar paintings showing subjects from Genesis and Exodus, two of which are in the National Gallery’s collection.
The Israelites gathering manna is a rare subject. It was depicted in fifteenth-century Northern European editions of the Biblia pauperum (‘Paupers’ Bible‘) as an Old Testament prefiguration of the Last Supper. An important precedent in Ferrara is Ercole de’ Roberti’s version of the scene, painted in the 1490s as part of a predella which also included The Institution of the Eucharist. Costa must have known this work, which was perhaps already in the Este collection: he was clearly inspired in particular by the setting, with the timber-frame huts with woven reed walls representing the tents which the Jews pitched in the desert.
Given the fragility of painting on linen, both this and The Dance of Miriam are in reasonable condition, although they were probably originally brighter: both are covered with surface dirt and some of the pigments, in particular the yellows and oranges, have deteriorated. A distinctive feature of both is the copious amount of finely applied gilding. Costa used shell gold to decorate not only the costumes but also the huts in the background, the foliage of the trees and other details.
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Two Scenes from the Story of Moses
These two Old Testament scenes are painted not on panel, as are most surviving Italian Renaissance paintings, but on linen. They are part of a series of eight paintings on linen canvasses by various artists, which survive in various collections.
Although now rare, paintings on linen were widespread in the Renaissance. They could serve as hangings, curtains, altar frontals and banners, as well as framed works of art; they were much cheaper than tapestries, faster to execute than frescoes and easier to transport than panel paintings.
These pictures probably came from a small chapel or oratory in Ferrara. Alternatively, they might have been from the home of a member of Ferrara’s Jewish community.
These two Old Testament scenes are painted not on panel, as are most surviving Italian Renaissance paintings, but on linen. They are part of a series of eight tempera paintings on canvas by various artists, which survive in various collections. Four illustrate episodes from the Book of Genesis: The Creation of Eve, The Temptation, The Expulsion from Paradise (all in private collections) and Cain killing Abel (Accademia Carrara di Belle Arti, Bergamo). The others show episodes from the Book of Exodus: Moses leading the Israelites through the wilderness (here called The Dance of Miriam), Moses striking the Rock (private collection), The Israelites gathering Manna and God speaking to Moses (Musei Civici di Monza).
Although now scarce, paintings on fabric were widespread in the Renaissance, both in Italy and northern Europe; other examples in the National Gallery’s collection include Lippo di Dalmasio’s The Madonna of Humility, Dirk Bouts‘ The Entombment and Quinten Massys’ The Virgin and Child with Saints Catherine and Barbara. They had many advantages: they could serve as hangings, curtains, altar frontals and banners as well as framed works of art, and they were much cheaper than tapestries, faster to paint than frescoes and easier to transport than panel paintings. Many, like these two, were done on linen canvas in glue tempera, a quick-drying medium, rather than oil. Andrea Mantegna in particular continued to use egg and glue as paint binders, and must have done much to maintain the prestige of this kind of painting in the courts of north-east Italy.
These pictures probably came from a small chapel or oratory in Ferrara. The Old Testament subject matter would have been perfectly appropriate for such a setting, especially if accompanied by New Testament scenes, as in the Sistine Chapel. The four Genesis scenes may have originally been on one long wall, with those from Exodus opposite them. They may have been framed by a cornice and base mouldings, with pilasters dividing each picture, as would often be the case with a fresco narrative. Perhaps the episode of Moses receiving the tablets of the law – which, surprisingly, is omitted – was shown on the altar wall. Alternatively, they might have been from the home of a member of Ferrara’s Jewish community.
The choice of medium and support, as well as the employment of a team of painters (including Pisano, Garofalo and Michele Coltellini), suggests that speed was of the essence. In 1506 the same artists, along with others, worked on a series of eight canvases in glue size for a vaulted room in the apartments of Lucrezia Borgia, consort of Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara. However, the two series do not seem to have been directly related.
All eight paintings were recorded for the first time in the Costabili collection in Ferrara in the nineteenth century. They been tentatively identified with eight Old Testament scenes listed in the collection of Carlo II Gonzaga, Duke of Nevers, in 1665. Mantua, which was ruled by the Gonzagas until 1708, was not far from Ferrara, although Giovanni Battista Costabili and his uncle Francesco usually purchased their paintings from a local Ferrarese source. The series was broken up when the collection was sold by Costabili’s heirs.


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