Moses striking the Rock
Lambert Sustris (Amsterdam c.1515 – Venice after 1560)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1535 - 1540
Materials
Oil on panel (softwood)
Measurements
560 x 810 mm
Place of origin
Flanders (Belgium from 1830)
Order this imageCollection
Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire
NT 1129279
Caption
Moses, the great leader of the Jewish people, was responsible for leading them out of Egyptian captivity, as related in the book of Exodus in the Old Testament. Whilst travelling through the desert, the Israelites complained of thirst, so Moses called upon God for help. He was told to take his rod and strike a particular rock, which would bring forth water. The Israelites are here shown filling their pots with the water. The episode was seen as a symbol of spiritual refreshment drawn by man from the Church.
Summary
Oil painting on panel, Moses striking the Rock, by Lambert Sustris (Amsterdam c.1515 – Venice after 1560), late 1530s. A wooded landscape with fantastic rocks in the distance; in the foreground groups of figures, some carrying bronze vessels for collecting the water. The biblical story of Moses drawing water from the rock is told in Exodus 17: 1-7 and Numbers 20: 20-13. The Israelites complain of thirst in the desert so Moses asked God for help. He took his rod and struck a rock. The subject is seen as spiritual refreshment of man from the Church.
Provenance
By descent until, following the death of Edward William Spencer Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire (1895 - 1950), Hardwick Hall and its contents were accepted by HM Treasury in part payment of death duties and transferred to the National Trust, in 1959
Makers and roles
Lambert Sustris (Amsterdam c.1515 – Venice after 1560), artist previously catalogued as by Flemish School, artist
Exhibition history
Lambert Sustris, un artiste dans l'Europe de la Renaissance entre Venise et I'Allemagne , Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen, France, 2017 - 2018, no.1
References
Couilleaux 2017: Benjamin Couilleaux, Lambert Sustris: un artiste de la Renaissance entre Venise et Allemagne (ex. cat.), Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen: Deauville, 2017, 1