Landscape with Moses and the Burning Bush
Moses confronts the burning bush in a corner of a landscape of lake and mountains: a small biblical landscape Domenichino painted on copper. Full commentary ↓
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Landscape with Moses and the Burning Bush is an oil painting by Domenichino (1610–16) in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It measures 45.1 × 34 cm.
In the pictureA blue lake, distant mountains and two large trees fill most of the picture, and at lower right a man in red, his shoes removed, faces the burning bush to his left. Beside him is a flock of sheep, and a small building can be seen on the lakeshore. Painted on copper, its colors are clear and its surface smooth.
BackgroundThe scene is from Exodus: while tending sheep, Moses hears the voice of God from a flame that does not burn up the bush. Domenichino, a native of Bologna who worked in Rome, refined the approach of placing small figures in an ideal landscape, a method later carried on by Poussin and Claude Lorrain. Copper was well suited to fine detail and was often used for small works like this.
Puzzle tipIt divides into blue sky and lake, green trees, brown earth and the red robe. Assemble the pieces with Moses, the flame and the sheep first, fill in the top with the white cloud pieces of the sky, and then join the greens of the trees. 100 pieces is about right.
- Artist
- Italian, Bologna 1581–1641 Naples
- Classification
- Paintings
- Medium
- Oil on copper
- Dimensions
- 45.1 x 34 cm
- Credit line
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 1976
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
Stories about this work
- Two Roman Ideal Landscapes of Places That Exist Nowhere
A landscape on copper with a biblical scene, and an imaginary landscape assembled from many places. The ideal landscape tradition that grew up in Rome, read through Domenichino and Dughet.
- Why Forest Puzzles Are So Hard, and How to Choose a Landscape Painting
Landscapes with a wide sky and landscapes packed with forest are hard for different reasons. How to find reference points for each type, and how to pick a good first landscape.
