Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh: An Allegory of the Dinteville Family
In this portrait, the five aristocratic Dinteville brothers act out a scene from the Hebrew Bible to represent an episode from their own family history. In 1538 Gaucher de Dinteville, the bearded man in blue at the rear of the group on the right, was accused of attempted sodomy. As a result, he and his brothers lost their court offices and spent several years in exile before returning to royal favor. Here, two of them—identified by the inscriptions on the hems of their robes—appear in the guises of Aaron and Moses, pleading with the Egyptian pharaoh.
Artwork Details
- Title: Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh: An Allegory of the Dinteville Family
- Artist: Master of the Dinteville Allegory (Netherlandish or French, active mid-16th century)
- Date: 1537
- Medium: Oil on wood
- Dimensions: 69 1/2 x 75 7/8 in. (176.5 x 192.7 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Wentworth Fund, 1950
- Object Number: 50.70
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings
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