The painting is an artistic work by Jacob Jordaens where the Israelites gather to observe a miracle. They had wandered in the Sinai Desert wilderness without water, and God saved them when he instructed Moses to strike a rock for water to gush out. The artistic work depicts a scene drama of energetic motion and repeated actions. The artist interwove human drawings and animals from left to right with drinking vessels and jars ready to fetch and quench their thirst. From the look of the image proportions and subtle foreshortening, Jacob Jordaens intended it to be viewed from below (“Moses striking water from the Rock,” n.d.). Also, this image is more instructive than religious or devotional.
The Flemish painter was born in 1593, May 19th, and died in 1678, October 18th. He was the firstborn of the eleven children of the wealthy linen merchant Jacob Jordaens and Barbara Wolschaten. His clear handwriting, French competency, and mythology knowledge indicate that he may have benefited from education, especially that other children of his social class received. Besides, he made many religious paintings, which proved he was familiar with the bible and therefore was a Christian.
No record shows Jordaens travelled abroad to study renaissance art. Instead, he tried to learn Italian masters’ prints in northern Europe. For instance, this painter studied paints of Veronese, Bassano, Titian, and Caravaggio. He was a prolific tapestry designer, although his output was largely monumental oil paintings. Thus, his career reflects him as a watercolour painter during his earlier training.
Peter Rubens played an essential role in influencing Jordaens’s career by employing him. His primary role was to reproduce small sketches in larger formats. When Rubens died, he rose to become the most admired painter in Antwerp. He relied on naturalism, a warm palette, tenebrism and chiaroscuro.
Further, Jordaens was not only a moderately successful painter but an excellent representative of humanity. His themes majorly represented a wide range of characters for humanity. They reflected realism within the context of mythological and religious subjects. Besides, his paintings illustrated Flemish proverbs and festivals (Britannica, 2022). Therefore, his works were diverse and a true reflection of society.
His work increased in popularity after the death of Rubens in 1640. Rubens’s heirs commissioned him to complete Spain’s, Philip IV Andromeda and Hercules. Also, many vital personalities commissioned him to complete Rubens’s works using his sketches. However, between 1652 and 1678, his creative artistic abilities were significantly reduced. He stopped using vibrant colours and started using grey-blue. Jordaens could later die of a mysterious Antwerp disease with her unmarried daughter, Elizabeth, in October 1678.
The painting is more appealing due to its formal and stylistic appearance, focusing on skilful visual aspects. It has intense light and shade contrasts whose composition and borders are sensual. Besides, it conveys and intrigues one with the concept of Israelites in the wilderness. Moreover, it evokes an emotional response regarding the urge of people and animals to quench their thirst (Yong-Suk, 2018). There is also a balance in the details that the painting contains. The details depict a reality similar to a real-life situation.
In conclusion, the artistic painting by Jacob Jordaens is about Israelites gathering to observe a miracle where God instructed Moses to strike a rock to gush water. The Israelites had wandered in the wilderness without water, and the painting depicts a dramatic scene of anxious people and animals willing to quench their thirst. The artist who lived between 1593 and 1678 was the firstborn of Jacob Jordaens and Barbara Wolschaten. He had acquired formal education because his handwriting and competency in French proved. However, he did not travel abroad to study renaissance art. Instead, he only tried to study masters’ prints available in northern Europe. Peter Rubens influenced Jordaens’s career by employing him. His workings represented humanity because the themes of his paintings reflected realism within the context of mythological and religious subjects. He increased his popularity after Rubens’s death, although from 1652 to 1678, his creative artistic abilities deteriorated. He died in 1678 together with her unmarried daughter because of the mysterious Antwerp disease. The painting is more appealing because of its formal and stylistic appearance, focusing on skilful visual aspects. Its intense light and shade contrast makes it sensual, and the details evoke an emotional response regarding the people’s expectations after Moses performs the miracle.
References
Britannica. (2022). Baroque art and architecture. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/art/Baroque-art-and-architecture
Moses striking water from the Rock. (n.d.). Google Arts & Culture. https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/moses-striking-water-from-the-rock-jacob-jordaens/EgEc9N5S30NoIQ
Yong-Suk, B. (2018). Chapter 2. The shaman god painting as an icon and its artistic qualities. The Paintings of Korean Shaman Gods, pp. 45–72. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781898823780-006
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