DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.62822#0089
NICHOLAS POUSSIN.
17
Old Testament Subjects.
the rock from whence gushes a stream which ssows down the
centre of the fore-ground. Among the several incidents ex-
hibited on the occasion, the most striking are, a father bending
on his knee and giving drink to his two children, and near
these, a woman seated on the ground, with an infant in her
lap, drinking from a vase held by a man, whose attention is
at the same time attracted by two women, one of whom is
imploring succour for her child ; the other is on her knees,
raising her hands in grateful acknowledgments for the mercy.
On the opposite side may be observed a man lying on his
stomach slaking his thirst; close to the last sits a woman
whose sufferings have overcome the affection of a parent, and
she is assuaging her burning thirst before satisfying that of
her infant’s. The horrors of intense thirst, and the greedy
eagerness of the sufferers to obtain relief, are strongly depicted
in the affecting scene. Engraved by Lepautre, and etched ;
N. Poilly, ex.
31. Moses striking the Rock. The view here exhibits an
open country, with three groups of trees at the extremity of
the fore-ground, and a rocky mountain on the right, at the
side of which stand Moses and Aaron. Moses is seen in a
profile view, smiting the rock, and Aaron is, apparently, ad-
dressing the people, and pointing at the same time to the
miraculous gush of water. On the same side, but close to the
front, are a man and a woman kneeling by the stream; the
former, dressed in a yellow mantle, is drinking with avidity
from a vase, and the latter from a cup; opposite to these are
two men, one of whom is filling a gold vase in the stream, and
the other is giving a cup of water to a young man ; beyond
these is a group of persons expressing their gratitude for the
precious element. On the left and in front of the picture, is
VOL. VIII. c
17
Old Testament Subjects.
the rock from whence gushes a stream which ssows down the
centre of the fore-ground. Among the several incidents ex-
hibited on the occasion, the most striking are, a father bending
on his knee and giving drink to his two children, and near
these, a woman seated on the ground, with an infant in her
lap, drinking from a vase held by a man, whose attention is
at the same time attracted by two women, one of whom is
imploring succour for her child ; the other is on her knees,
raising her hands in grateful acknowledgments for the mercy.
On the opposite side may be observed a man lying on his
stomach slaking his thirst; close to the last sits a woman
whose sufferings have overcome the affection of a parent, and
she is assuaging her burning thirst before satisfying that of
her infant’s. The horrors of intense thirst, and the greedy
eagerness of the sufferers to obtain relief, are strongly depicted
in the affecting scene. Engraved by Lepautre, and etched ;
N. Poilly, ex.
31. Moses striking the Rock. The view here exhibits an
open country, with three groups of trees at the extremity of
the fore-ground, and a rocky mountain on the right, at the
side of which stand Moses and Aaron. Moses is seen in a
profile view, smiting the rock, and Aaron is, apparently, ad-
dressing the people, and pointing at the same time to the
miraculous gush of water. On the same side, but close to the
front, are a man and a woman kneeling by the stream; the
former, dressed in a yellow mantle, is drinking with avidity
from a vase, and the latter from a cup; opposite to these are
two men, one of whom is filling a gold vase in the stream, and
the other is giving a cup of water to a young man ; beyond
these is a group of persons expressing their gratitude for the
precious element. On the left and in front of the picture, is
VOL. VIII. c