RICCI, Sebastiano (b. 1659, Belluno, d. 1734, Venezia) |
Moses Defending the Daughters of Jethro1720sOil 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.
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