RICCI, Sebastiano
(b. 1659, Belluno, d. 1734, Venezia)

Moses Defending the Daughters of Jethro

1720s
Oil on canvas, 114 x 178 cm
Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest

This is the companion-piece of the Bathsheba at the Bath, also in the Budapest museum. The authenticity of the two large-size biblical scenes is confirmed by drawings which have survived in Ricci's Venetian sketch-book. From their size and form it may be assumed that these pictures adorned the walls of a large room, and on the evidence of their style they were most likely painted in the 1720s. In the long and narrow field the artist built up his composition as a frieze; the figures are graceful and supple, their animation and vigour create a vivid rhythm, the grouping is loose but nevertheless powerful.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 5 minutes):
Gioacchino Rossini: Moses, Moses' Prayer