Moses Striking the Rock
Historical Context
Joachim Anthonisz Wtewael's Moses Striking the Rock, dated 1624, depicts the Old Testament miracle of Moses bringing water from a rock to quench the thirst of the Israelites in the desert. Wtewael was one of the last major Dutch Mannerist painters, maintaining an elaborate, highly artificial style well into the seventeenth century even as his Utrecht contemporaries embraced the naturalism of Caravaggio. His works are prized for their inventive compositions and brilliant, almost metallic color.
Technical Analysis
The oil on panel displays Wtewael's characteristic Mannerist technique: crowded compositions with sinuous, elongated figures, vivid, artificial colors, and elaborate surface patterns. The small scale and extreme refinement of detail reflect his training as a glass painter.
Provenance
(Sale, Foster, London, 29 November 1833, no. 29, as by J. de Wael); Thomas Chawner, Esq. [d. 1851], London and Addlestone, near Chertsey, Surrey; (his estate sale, Foster, London, 16 June 1852, no. 97); Chance.[1] H. Charles Erhardt, Esq., London, by 1892; (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 19-22 June 1931, no. 273, as by J.B. de Wael); "Leffer" or "Lepper."[2] Francis Howard, Esq., Dorking, by 1955; (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 25 November 1955, no. 52, as by J.B. de Wael); (Arcade Gallery, London); sold to Vincent Korda, London; repurchased 1967 by (Arcade Gallery, London);[3] sold 1967 to (Edward Speelman, London);[4] purchased 31 January 1972 by NGA. [1] Burton Fredericksen (letter of 2 January 2003 and e-mail of 17 July 2003, in NGA curatorial files) has kindly provided the information about the Foster sales of 1833 and 1852, and the buyers at each sale, Thomas Chawner and "Chance." A label on the back of the painting, which reads "J. de Wael / 29 Moses striking the Rock," matches the information from the 1833 sale catalogue. [2] Christie's in London no longer has its records from 1931 and thus was not able to help clarify the buyer's name. See correspondence from 25 September 1986 and 7 November 1986, in NGA curatorial files. [3] The Arcade Gallery, in a letter of 3 March 1987 in NGA curatorial files, says that they sold the painting "almost immediately" to Korda after they purchased it at the 1955 sale, repurchased it in 1967, and then sold it during the exhibition in November and December of the same year, in which the painting appeared. [4] A letter from Anthony Speelman of 23 January 1987, in NGA curatorial files, indicates that the Edward Speelman firm had bought _Moses Striking the Rock_ from Vincent Korda prior to their selling it to the National Gallery of Art.
