Moses Striking the Rock
Artist
Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (Grechetto)
(Italian, 1610-1664)
CultureItalian
DateAfter 1650
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsOverall: 39 x 47 1/4 in. (99.1 x 120 cm)
Overall, Frame: 49 x 57 in. (124.5 x 144.8 cm)
Overall, Frame: 49 x 57 in. (124.5 x 144.8 cm)
InscribedSigned lower left: "IO.BENEDITVS/CASTILIONV./IANVE"
Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number71.629
Not on view
DescriptionThis is an oil on canvas painting. The foreground displays a variety of animals drinking water, including a goose, duck, goats and a dog with his tail in the air. There is also a basket with a pot in it and some blankets on the right. Mid-ground reveals Moses and a stream of water on the left side, he is wearing a bright red robe and his left arm is outstretched. The right holds the rod that is striking the rock that produced the flow of water. On the right side of the canvas, fourteen people cluster together with various facial expressions of astonishment. They lean back with a fearful look, but cannot turn their eyes from the dramatic scene before them. The background is tranquil blue sky and clouds.;
Label TextGiovanni Benedetto Castiglione, called Grechetto Italian, 1609–1664 Moses Striking the Rock, after 1650 Oil on canvas Moses strikes a rock, miraculously drawing out water for the thirsty Israelites during their trek through the desert. Everyone is surprised. Some fall to their knees and pray while others rear up in disbelief. Mouths fall open, dumbstruck. The animals, however, aren’t bothered one bit. They gather to drink, forming a textured mass of finely rendered fur and feathers. As this painting might suggest, the artist Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione was celebrated for his skill as a painter of animals and as a caricaturist. Even so, don’t miss the way he depicts the cascading water and its glinting light. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.629 ProvenanceAnonymous private collection, London, England; David Koetser, New York, 1954; Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. to the Chrysler Museum, 1971. Exhibition History"Paintings from the Collection of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.," Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, March 2 - April 15, 1956; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, April 27 - May 27, 1956; California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, California, June 12 - July 11, 1956; Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, California, July 26 - August 26, 1956; Minneapolis Art Institute, Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 8 - October 7, 1956; City Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri, October 19 - November 18, 1956; William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, November 30, 1956 - January 2, 1957; Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit, Michigan, January 18 - February 17, 1957; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, March 8 - April 14, 1957. (Exhib. cat. no.38). "Chrysler Art Museum of Provincetown Inaugural Exhibition," Provincetown, MA, 1958. (Exhib.cat. no. 8). "Genoese Masters, Cambiaso to Magnasco 1550-1750," Dayton Art Institute, October 19 - December 2, 1962; John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, January 3 - February 17, 1963; Wadsworth Atheneum, March 19 - May 5, 1963. (Exhib. cat. no. 23). "A Loan Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings. Genoese Painters Cambiaso to Magnasco, 1550-1750," Finch College Museum of Art, New York, NY, October 15, 1964 - February 1, 1965. (Exhib. cat. no. 47). "Italian Renaissance and Baroque Paintings from the Collection of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.," Norfolk Museum of Arts & Sciences, Norfolk, VA, December 2, 1967 - May 15, 1968. (Exhib. cat. no. 30). "Hot Dry Men, Cold Wet Women: The Theory of Humors in Western European Art, 1575-1700," Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska, September 13 - November 2, 1997; Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas, November 20, 1997 - February 6, 1998; The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL, February 27 - April 24, 1998. Published ReferencesBertina S. Manning. _Paintings from the Collection of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr..: An Exhibition Organized by the Portland Art Museum, Oregon_. Portland: Portland Art Association. 1956. No. 38. Bertina S. Manning. _Chrysler Museum of Provincetown Inaugural Exhibition_. Provincetown, Massachusetts: Chrysler Art Museum of Provincetown. 07/1958. No. 8 Robert L. Manning. _Italian Renaissance and Baroque Paintings from the Collection fo Walter P. Chrysler, Jr._. Norfolk: Norfolk Museum of Arts and Science. 1967. No. 30. Jefferson C. Harrison. _The Chrysler Museum Handbook of the European and American Collections: Selected Paintings, Sculpture, and Drawings_. The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA, 1991, p. 33, #25. Zirka Z. Filipczak. _Hot Dry Men, Cold Wet Women: The Theory of Humors in Western European Art 1575-1700_. New York: The American Federation of Arts, 1997,170, color ill. p. 171.
