Attributed to Andrea Celesti

Finding of Moses

2nd half 17th centur

Oil on canvas
100.5 x 129.5 cm

• condition: very good, framed
• published: Compare the painting with same subject in the collection of the Slovenian National Gallery in Ljubljana, 112 x 155 cm, Q1065524
• The motif of this painting is taken from the Bible (Ex 2, 5–10) and shows Pharao’s daughter saving little Moses from the water and giving him to a wet nurse, who is in reality his mother. In Christian symbolism this event from the Old Testament anticipates Christ, who will escape the Slaughter of the Innocents in Bethlehem. The central group in our picture, the mother and little Moses, is reminiscent of the group of the Virgin Mary and the Child.