Moses and the Messengers from Canaan

Download4000 × 3535 px View on a wall Edit

Artist: Giovanni Lanfranco (Italian, 1582–1647)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 219.7 × 249.6 cm (86 1/2 × 98 1/4 in.)
Culture: Italian
Museum: J. Paul Getty Museum
Rights: CC0 — no rights reserved

Giovanni Lanfranco conceived this painting as part of a series executed for the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament in the Basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura (Saint Paul Outside the Walls) in Rome. Lanfranco depicts the imposing figures as if seen from below, imbuing them with a sense of monumentality and facilitating the painting’s placement high on the chapel walls.

In the Old Testament (Numbers 13:1–27), Moses sent spies to Canaan—the Promised Land—to determine whether the land bore fruit. Lanfranco depicted these spies as they returned, laden with grapes, pomegranates, and figs as signs of the bounty of Canaan. Laying the ample harvest at Moses' feet, they reported, “surely it floweth with milk and honey.” In Catholic theology, the plentiful grapes of the Promised Land prefigured the wine of Communion, making it an appropriate subject for the large Sacrament Chapel. A second example from this series dedicated to Eucharistic themes exists in the Getty’s collection: Elijah Receiving Bread from the Widow of Zarephath.

Text: J. Paul Getty Trust, CC BY 4.0.