Moses Striking Water from Rock

Title: Moses Striking water from Rock

Date: 1560-1572

Artist: Durante Alberti and assistants

Location: Villa D’Este, Tivoli

Medium: Fresco

Dimensions: 130 cm * 180 cm

Numbers 20: 11 “Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, and water gushed out.” (3)

Mannerism developed in the sixteenth century with Michelangelo’s liberation from the classical idealism of the High Renaissance. As one of the most respected artists of the time, Michelangelo inspired many younger artists of this time to follow his example and engage in the mannerist movement.             

Michelangelo differentiated his mannerist art from his earlier works by venturing away from classical ideals of perfection in human form and instead took the artistic license to distort figures and portray them with a new level of complexity. Later artists took these stylistic changes and continued to develop the mannerist art style, which resulted in highly sophisticated works of art that only the affluent could truly understand possessing other features such as; visual energy, stylized artificial elegance, and crowded, entangled figures.

By 1560, when the renovation of Villa d’Este began, Mannerism was the chief artistic style in practice, and many of the “stars” of late Roman Mannerism were enlisted in the decoration of the villa’s interior. This fresco of Moses striking water from the rock found in the “Moses Room” of the villa painted by Durante Alberti and his assistants exhibits several key mannerist characteristics.

While this fresco is not entirely complex and difficult to understand in its depiction of the scene, there is still some complexity. The fresco does not simply depict Moses striking the rock observed by a crowd of clones reacting in one accord. The crowd watching Moses contains many different characters who are reacting to the spectacle in various fashions; some are looking with wonder, others are whispering to their companions, and still others are preparing to catch some of the water in jars. All of these actions of the crowd display great movement and action, therefore exhibiting the characteristic of visual energy. One of the most interesting aspects of this fresco is the fact that while the crowd displays much energy, Moses, the one who was supposedly angrily striking water from the rock has the least energy of anyone in the scene, calmly standing there, barely scratching the rock with his stick.

This unrealistic depiction of an angry Moses exhibit’s the mannerist  characteristic of artificial stylized elegance. Moses probably was not an elegant person especially when he was angry and yet in this scene, he maintains a stoic, composed stance. This artificial elegance is can be seen in the garb of Moses and the crowd as well. Their flowing, colorful robes appear much more elegant than one would expect from people who had been wandering in the desert for years. Even the scenery is artificially elegant; if there was enough water for the trees and grass to be green, the Israelites probably could have found water without having to strike it from a rock. These elements only serve to make the scene more elegant. One last instance of the distortion of the natural in favor of elegance is the camels in the upper right corner, if you can even call them camels. In mannerist fashion they have elongated, curvaceous necks that more resemble that of a swan than camel.

Other mannerist characteristics of this painting are the crowded feel of the scene and how the people are almost entangled with each other. The people watching the spectacle are so crowded and entangled in this scene that you see cannot see any their entire bodies, except for the one man on the left. There is always another person blocking the view, giving the fresco this crowded and entangled aesthetic.

While this fresco may not be the very essence of mannerism, the mannerist characteristics contained within it reveal the heavy influence mannerism had on the art of this time.

Bibliography

(1) http://www.villadestetivoli.info/storiae.htm

(2) Wilkins, David G. Schultz, J. Bernard. Linduff, Katheryn M. 2001. Art Past Art Present 4^th Edition. Prentice Hall.

(3) The Holy Bibile. New Living Translation. 2^nd Edition. 2004. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Steam, IL.

Dr. Collett's Sketch

My name is Maegan Collett and I am the Artistic director for the Archeological Society of Geneva College. I am originally from Azusa’s Archeological Department, but I merged with Geneva in order to be apart of their Rome Expedition. As the Art director, I survey, sketch, photograph, and analyze ancient ruins, classical paintings, and artifacts. I am nervous about our expedition into the unknown lands of Rome, but trust our faithful protector Dr. Glick will keep us out of warms way. I aspire to use my creative gifts and artistic eye to discover the miraculous paintings depicting miracles throughout the Bible. I am blessed to be in a culture immersed in such empowering and unfathomable works. I hope to grow in my understanding of art history, people, culture, God’s miraculous creation, and his purpose for my life. 

Dr. Palmer and Her Monkey Mac

Hi there! My name is Heidi Palmer. I am the Director of Excursions within our crew of determined Archeologists. Before I signed up for this expedition, I was in charge of Geneva College’s Outdoor Adventure Program. I encourage my students to find art in God’s creation and in their surroundings, no matter where it may be. With my monkey Mac I traveled to Italy in search of adventure! I teamed up with 4 other highly talented colleagues and together we have found many different works of art depicting the miraculous workings of our God.

My strongest belief is that life is too short to worry about anything, so I don’t. Things will work out and if they don’t, they weren’t meant to! Give God the control and see where He takes you. It will always be an adventure!

About Dr. Reiner

My name is Anne Reiner and I am the director of the Journalism Department at the Archeological Society of Geneva College. I have been working with this program for the past two and a half years and feel as though I have made many advances in my field. It is my duty to keep the public updated on the progress of our archeological expeditions and communicate the type of artifacts that we find.  Each site we come to is unique in its own way and deserves to be made public to those who may never be able to see it for themselves. I love the work that I do and hope that I have been able to learn just as much as my readers, if not more. 

Dome of the Pentecost

Time Period: 11^th and 12^th Centuries

Artist: Unknown

Location: Venice, Italy

Medium: Mosaic

Dimensions: Unknown

“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.”  ~ Acts 2: 1-4

Situated on the ceiling of the San Marco Chapel in Venice, Italy the Dome of the Pentecost is an amazing sight. It depicts the tongues of fire coming from Jesus Christ to the twelve disciples. However, what perhaps makes this even more amazing is the fact that it is coated in gold, which accounts for the shine. Each design is made up of thousands of tiny blocks of many different colors. They are designed very intricately so that each color works together to form an image. It is a grueling task for any mosaic, but for this one and those around it must have been especially difficult because they are on the ceiling about forty yards above the floor.

The images which are created in this mosaic are that of Jesus in the very center, the king and savior of all. Proceeding forth from Jesus are twelve silver lines portraying the Holy Spirit descending from heaven to enter the minds of the apostles. Just above the heads of each apostle there is a red line which portrays the tongues of fire which were seen above their heads on the day of Pentecost. There is also a dove in the center which is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

The placement of this mosaic is also very interesting to me. It is on the ceiling just as you walk through the door and serves as a reminder of the Holy Spirit’s presence in the church and in its members. Therefore, as the people walked into the service they were washed, metaphorically, with the Holy Spirit as they enter into the service. It is a great reminder of the Spirit’s influence in the church and in our individual lives.

Also, the fact that the mosaic is on the ceiling, as opposed to on the wall or somewhere else, is very important. It gives a wonderful feeling of the relationship between heaven and earth; Jesus is in heaven with the rest of the saints above the congregation which is on earth and because the shape of the mosaic is a dome then the lines portraying the Holy Spirit are coming down the side of the dome which gives it the effect of coming down from Heaven to meet the people. In a way it makes the story come alive for the person every time they come into the chapel; helping to keep the message of Pentecost alive as long as San Marco is around. 

Rose Window

Artist: Unknown

Year: Unknown

Location: Saint Chapel, Paris, France

Medium: Glass, Metallic Salt

Dimensions: Unknown

“And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of this book… Do not seal up the words of this prophecy of this book, for the time is near… ‘I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”   ~ Revelation 22: 7, 10 & 16

The Rose Window in the Saint Chapel is situated at the back of the chapel. The door to enter the chapel is almost right underneath the Rose Window. Therefore, as I entered the building and gasped at the picture of beauty in front of me I was unaware of an even more breath taking sight behind me. I walked further into the chapel to better take in the wonder I say; I turned around and my jaw quite literally dropped, my eyes opened wider as if they could not capture the entire image and before I could stop myself I exclaimed, “Oh!” In a few moments I composed myself because I realized how complete of an idiot I looked, but my wonder and amazement were still there.

The Rose Window captured my interest even more when I started reading information on it. Similar to the rest of the stain glass windows in Saint Chapel, the Rose Window tells a story with the images in each window piece. The story being told in this window is that of Revelation; with Jesus in the middle and prophesies of revelation in the surrounding sections.  This served as a constant reminder to those in the congregation of the impending return of Christ and judgment of the world.

As I read the first few pages in Revelation I found and interesting verse, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, ¹¹ saying, “Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea” (Revelation 1: 10-11).  Now even though Saint Chapel is not listed among these churches it is a descendent of those churches which were instrumental in the development of the Christian Faith.  Therefore, I find it very fitting that they would choose to have a constant reminder of that very revelation in their chapel.

God commands us to always remember that this life is not eternal, this world will end, our lives will become new and the nonbeliever will be punished. Very often that important truth is forgotten, it is pushed to the background and we are scared to think about it. But God wanted it to be known, he wanted it to be sent to the seven largest churches of the time, He wanted it to be written in a book and kept for the rest of time, He wanted it to be remembered through the ages. The Rose Window in Saint Chapel has dedicated one of the most famous windows in the world simply to the representation of God’s message to His people. 

Lazarus is Raised From the Dead

Year: Between 2^nd and 5^th centuries

Artist: Unknown

Location: Catacombs of Pricilla

Medium: Fresco

Dimensions: Approx. 1ft by 1ft

So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” ⁴¹ So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. ⁴² I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.” When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” ⁴⁴

The man who had died came forth.  ~ John 11: 38-44

I have chosen to enter the mind of the artist who created this piece of art. It is not a well-known piece and the artist himself is anonymous, however, from the tour we were given of the Pricilla Catacombs I have written a poem (if you wish to call it poetry) of what any artist working in those dark halls may have been thinking, seeing, hearing and feeling.  These are the musings of an artist.

Light in the Dark

The dead surround me, they press in on me

Their silence is deafening, their voices are not heard.

As I paint I try to hear them, but they have gone now;

Gone to pastures green, gone to cups overflowing

I hear a mother weeping for the child that will cry no more

She calls to the dead, but they will not answer.

She calls to the living, they cannot console her.

She calls to her Savior who now holds her child in His arms

A dark corridor descends to the right of me,

It is filled with bodies swallowed by the black.

I have walked these corridors, I have seen these bodies,

I have mourned their passing, I have celebrated their death.

I rejoice in their return, I praise their devotion to the Lord

I seek the good which God brings from sorrow.

I seek to show life where there is none,

To bring hope to a weeping mother.

The light flickers near my head, my arm begins its stroke

It must be done fast, it must be done bold.

I don’t have time to be elaborate

I don’t have time to fix mistakes

The blackness of his tomb appears, his body forms in the black

The man raised from the dead, Lazarus the faithful

The friend of Jesus, the one for whom wept

I form His outstretched hand; The Savior reaches toward the fallen

I wish to spread hope to the dead, to the weeping mother

Her loved one will be raised again, raised with the faithful

The friends of Jesus, the ones for whom He has wept

We hold His outstretched hand, which he reaches toward His beloved.