National Gallery Londres
OST - 153x211 - 1633-1634
The
Adoration of the Golden Calf is a painting by Nicolas Poussin, produced between 1633 and 1634. It depicts the adoration of
the golden calf by the Israelites, from chapter 32 of the Book of Exodus.
It was made as part of a pair of paintings (the other being The Crossing of
the Red Sea) commissioned by Amadeo dal Pozzo, Marchese di Voghera of
Turin, a cousin to Cassiano dal Pozzo, Poussin's main
sponsor in Rome. By 1685 the pair had passed to the Chevalier de Lorraine and
in 1710 they were bought by Benigne de Ragois de Bretonvillers.
In 1741 they were
bought from Samuel by Sir Jacob Bouverie, whose son William became the first Earl of Radnor.
The Earls of Radnor owned the pair from then until 1945,
when it was split for the first time and The Adoration of the Golden Calf bought by the National Gallery in London for £10,000, half of which was contributed by
the Art Fund.
Moses climbed Mount
Sinai to receive the tablets of the Ten Commandments. During his absence the
Israelites built an idol with Aaron's help and worshipped it with song and
dance. On his return, Moses was so angered by this that he smashed the tablets
(Exodus: 32).
'The Adoration of the Golden Calf' and its
companion piece, 'The Crossing of the Red Sea' were made for Amadeo dal Pozzo,
a cousin of Poussin's major Roman patron, Cassiano dal Pozzo. The paintings
stayed together until 1945 when the National Gallery acquired 'The Adoration'.
Poussin took the design for the group of dancers from his 'Bacchanalian Revel before a Term of Pan' (also in the Collection) another picture of pagan celebration, but turned the group through 180 degrees. The even distribution of blue, red and orange throughout the painting helps to unify the composition as a whole, but colour, for example the white of Aaron's cloak, is also used to isolate individual figures. Poussin also used emphatic gestures in order to tell the story.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário