Roman School, early 18th century Moses defending the daughters of...

Roman School, early 18th century
Moses defending the daughters of Jethro and Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well

a pair, both oil on silvered copper
one unframed: 46.5 x 64.8 cm.; 18¼ x 25½ in.
framed: 67.3 x 85.7 cm.; 26½ x 33¾ in.
the other unframed: 46.5 x 64.7 cm.; 18¼ x 25½ in.
framed: 67.3 x 85.2 cm.; 26½ x 33½ in.
(2)

Catalogue Note:
These paintings follow known designs by Italian Baroque painters working towards the end of the 17th century. Moses defending the daughters of Jethro is closely related to a larger work by Cirro Ferri (1634?–1689) in the São Paulo Museum of Art, dated to 1660–89.1 An engraving after Ferri's picture by Pietro Aquila (1650–1692/1700), an impression of which can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, attests to the popularity of the composition, while also providing evidence of the dissemination of the design.2 Likewise, Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well relates to a picture attributed to either Marcantonio Franceschini (1648–1729) or his brother-in-law, Luigi Quaini (1643–1717), in the Galleria Nazionale di Palazzo Spinola, Genoa.3

That these two compositions originate from different artistic sources would suggest that their selection was the result of a specific customer request: the client who commissioned the present works clearly had an affinity for these particular designs and asked that the artist reproduce them, together, on a smaller scale, suited to a domestic setting.

1 Inv. no. MASP.00030, oil on canvas, 117 x 167 cm.; https://masp.org.br/acervo/obra/moises-e-as-filhas-de-jetro .

2 Accession no. 61.622.25, etching and engraving (trimmed sheet), 43.9 x 55.3 cm.; https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/762913.

3 Inv. no. 87, oil on canvas, 110 x 138 cm.; D.C. Miller, Marcantonio Franceschini, Turin 2001, p. 197, no. 94, reproduced on p. 195.