Italian school. Possibly Neapolitan, ca.1630-40.

Italian school. Possibly Neapolitan, ca.1630-40.
"Moses with the bronze serpent".
Oil on slate.
Inscription on the back.
Signature of later period.
Measurements: 48 x 72 cm; 65 x 89 cm (frame).

This work is a piece of an impressive dramatic charge, not only because of the biblical theme it represents, but also because of the physical support chosen: the slate. Painting on stone was a refined and expensive technique in the 17th century, appreciated for the durability it gave to the pigments and for the naturally dark background that intensified the tenebrism.

According to the biblical story, Moses erects a bronze serpent by divine command to save the Israelites bitten by poisonous snakes, a theme charged with drama and redemptive meaning that had great fortune in Baroque painting.

The composition is articulated by means of a strong contrast between the serene and authoritative figure of Moses, who points out the symbol of salvation, and the tumult of twisted bodies that occupy the foreground. The intense anatomical treatment, the foreshortening and the exacerbated gestures of the characters reveal a clear affinity with the dramatic naturalism of the Neapolitan environment, heir to the influence of Caravaggio and his followers.

The technical resource that reinforces the chiaroscuro, together with the theatricality of the scene and the expressive pathos, underlines the devotional and emotional character of the work, conceived to impact the spectator and reinforce the moral and spiritual message of the biblical episode.