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Moses Striking the Rock

Abraham Bloemaert Netherlandish
1596
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 638
Contorted and elongated bodies writhe in reaction to life-giving water, which the Hebrew prophet Moses has summoned from a rock in the middle distance. This miracle saved his followers on their desert journey from Egypt. The rush of energy from the earth culminates in the principal figure, a woman holding a jug. Bloemaert has given her the sensuality of ancient pagan allegorical figures that represented water, thereby overlaying metaphorical representations of this natural element. In the Christian tradition, stories from the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament) foretell pivotal events from Jesus’s life; this miraculous appearance of water is understood to have prefigured the baptism of Christ.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Moses Striking the Rock
  • Artist: Abraham Bloemaert (Netherlandish, Gorinchem 1566–1651 Utrecht)
  • Date: 1596
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 31 3/8 x 42 1/2 in. (79.7 x 108 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Gift of Mary V. T. Eberstadt, by exchange, 1972
  • Object Number: 1972.171
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

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Based on a composition by Abraham Bloemaert (Netherlandish, Gorinchem 1566–1651 Utrecht)
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After a design by Abraham Bloemaert (Netherlandish, Gorinchem 1566–1651 Utrecht)
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After Abraham Bloemaert (Netherlandish, Gorinchem 1566–1651 Utrecht)
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