Landscape with Moses and the Burning Bush

By Domenico Zampieri, 1610–16
JPG • 3100 × 4000 PX • 4.7 MB
Curatorial Notes

Painted between 1610 and 1616, this work depicts the biblical episode in which God reveals himself to Moses through a bush that burns without being consumed, as described in the Book of Exodus (Ex 3:1–6). While tending his father-in-law's flock near Mount Horeb, Moses witnessed this extraordinary phenomenon and heard the voice of God, who commanded him to remove his sandals because he was standing on holy ground. During this encounter, he received the mission to free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Domenichino presents the event within a vast idealized landscape, where nature occupies considerably more space than the biblical figure, a characteristic of his painting influenced by the classicism of Annibale Carracci. An interesting historical detail is that the work formed a pair with Landscape with Tobias Laying Hold of the Fish, now in the National Gallery in London. Both paintings, executed on copper panels of similar dimensions, were recorded together in a 1679 inventory of the Colonna family collection in Rome. According to the National Gallery, the episodes also carried meanings associated with the Virgin Mary in Renaissance Christian interpretation: the bush that burned without being consumed was associated with her Immaculate Conception.

Artwork Identification

Title Landscape with Moses and the Burning Bush
Title (PT) Paisagem com Moisés e a Sarça Ardente
Title (ES) Paisaje con Moisés y la Zarza Ardiente
Artist Domenico Zampieri
Artist Bio Domenico Zampieri (1581–1641), known as Domenichino, was an Italian Baroque painter born in Bologna. He studied under Denys Calvaert and at the Carracci Academy, later becoming a pupil of Annibale Carracci in Rome. He distinguished himself through religious paintings, monumental frescoes, and classical landscapes, characterized by balanced compositions and an idealized representation of nature. Among his most important works are the frescoes dedicated to Saint Cecilia in Rome and the decorations of the Chapel of San Gennaro in Naples Cathedral. His paintings influenced artists such as Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorrain.
Date 1610–16
Work Type Painting

Location & Collection

License Creative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0
Ars Sancta