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ATTRIBUÉ À GASPAR JACOB VAN OPSTAL Anvers, 1654 - 1717

Moses saved from the waters Canvas 113.5 x 161.5 - 44 5/8 x 63 1/2 in. Moses saved from the Waters, oil on canvas PROVENANCE Christie's sale, Paris, June 16, 2023, no. 143 as "École française du début du XVIIIe siècle. Entourage de Nicolas Bertin"; Anonymous sale, Drouot Montaigne, Paris, June 25, 1991, no. 50. An attribution to Jean-Baptiste de Champaigne (1631 - 1681) has been suggested. The biblical theme of Moses' rescue was popular in 17th-century iconography. For biblical art historians, the craze for depictions of the life of Moses is explained by its allegorical and prefigurative character for the life of Christ. In this way, Moses' rescue foreshadows that of the Infant Jesus escaping the massacre of the Holy Innocents. Bossuet (1627 - 1704) also analyzed this scene as a foreshadowing of Christ's resurrection after his passion1. The theme and its symbolism were particularly appreciated by classical painters, notably Nicolas Poussin (1594 - 1665), whose Moses Saved from the Waters is the best-known interpretation of the theme. These biblical allegories developed rapidly in the wake of the Council of Trent, which initiated a reaffirmation of the Catholic faith in Europe in reaction to the Reformation. The widespread practice of allegoresis (meaning the deciphering of allegories), aimed at rekindling devotion among the faithful, gave them a didactic purpose. The biblical scenes depicted are those that arouse the emotions of the public, generally pity and suffering through the depiction of Christ's passion or the martyrdom of saints, or tenderness through the juvenile figure of the little child. The theme of Moses' rescue from the waters is a prime example. 1 Bossuet writes: "The first thing God did to let his people know that he was preparing a liberator for them in the person of Moyse, was to allow him to be exposed to the same torment as the others, and like them thrown into the Nile to perish" in BOSSUET Jean-Bénigne, Elévations sur les mystères, 1687, ed. by M. Dréano, Paris, 1962, page 229.

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ATTRIBUÉ À GASPAR JACOB VAN OPSTAL Anvers, 1654 - 1717

Estimate 10 000 - 15 000 EUR

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For sale on Tuesday 25 Jun : 14:30 (CEST)
neuilly-sur-seine, France
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