Moses Breaking the Tables of the Law

Moses smashed the tablets of the law is a history painting by Rembrandt van Rijn. The 1659 oil on canvas painted image is 168.5 centimeters high and 136.5 inches wide. It shows Moses after the first descent from Mount Sinai, when he smashed the tablets of the law in response to the worship of the golden calf. The painting belongs to the collection of the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin.

Image description

The only figure of the picture is Moses, who was portrayed as Hüftbildnis from the bottom view. He raised his arms and holding the two tablets with the Ten Commandments above his head. Rembrandt made ​​Moses represents the moment in which this notice the golden calf and its worship and then smashed the tablets. Thus, a passage in Chapter 32 of the second book of Moses is illustrated. Rembrandt led some parts of the image very like the face, the sleeves up to the elbows and the tablets with the exact reproduction of the Hebrew letters. Large areas such as the background and the hands are in contrast rather fleeting and sketchy effect. Therefore, it could be a not quite perfected image.

Background

There are some scientists who believe that the painting in 1655 for the Amsterdam town hall in 1659 would have been ordered and delivered. Then it would have been but away there and reduced. This view is not generally accepted in the research. The painting has also been proven to be reduced on any side.

Provenance

The painting Moses smashed the tablets did not originate as many other Rembrandt's paintings of the Berlin Gemäldegalerie of the dowry of Louise Henriette of Orange, who was married on December 7, 1646 by Frederick William of Brandenburg. The Elector of Brandenburg acquired the image probably directly from the workshop of the painter and hung it in his private rooms. From 1830 it was shown in the opened in the Old Museum Art Gallery. During World War II, the painting was Moses smashed the tablets with the other works of Rembrandt in the Gemäldegalerie the Thuringian salt mine Kaiserroda brought to safety. There it was discovered during the war by American soldiers and spent subsequently in the United States. There has toured with the exhibition of the 202 until it was returned to the Collecting Point in Wiesbaden by various cities in the United States. 1955 was returned from there to Berlin - Dahlem. Since 1998, the image in the new art gallery at the Cultural Forum is shown.