The artwork “Moses Striking Water from the Rock” is an oil painting on canvas by the renowned French artist Nicolas Poussin, created during the years 1633 to 1635. Embodied in the Classical art movement, this religious painting measures 97 by 133 centimeters and is currently housed at the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh, UK. The composition exemplifies the Baroque era’s interest in dramatic narrative and Poussin’s adherence to clarity, logic, and order, hallmarks of Classicism.
The artwork portrays a pivotal Old Testament scene where Moses, by God’s command, brings forth water from a rock to quench the thirst of the Israelites in the desert as narrated in the Book of Exodus. In the foreground of the painting, Moses is depicted to the left, his arm outstretched towards the rock from which water cascades, attending to the miraculous event. He is surrounded by the Israelites, who engage in various actions that range from rapt attention and prayerful gratitude to the hurried collection of the life-sustaining water.
Despite the dynamism suggested by the scene, Poussin carefully orchestrates the composition to maintain a sense of order and balance. There is a palpable division between the shadowy, rocky landscape from where the water flows and the open, sunlit camp of the Israelites in the background. Rich in detail, the painting presents a multitude of characters, each rendered with individual care and exhibiting a wide array of emotions and physical responses to the miracle they witness.
Characteristic of Poussin’s work is the use of classical elements in the figures’ drapery and poised postures, even amidst the scene’s inherent commotion. The tree-lined middle distance and the softly painted, atmospheric landscape in the background imbue the narrative with a timeless, serene quality—an echo of the eternal message carried by this biblical episode.
