The Finding of Moses

Orazio Gentileschi's 1634 Finding of Moses — Pharaoh's daughter discovering the infant Moses in a basket among the reeds of the Nile — was painted during his final years in England and is now among the most celebrated works in the National Gallery's collection. Commissioned for Charles I's court, the canvas demonstrates Gentileschi at the peak of his technical mastery, with a large-scale multi-figure composition of aristocratic women and their attendants that showcases his ability to handle varied textures, costumes, and lighting conditions simultaneously. Moses in the basket serves as the compositional focus while the surrounding women create an elaborate visual texture of silks, satins, and hair. The National Gallery acquired this work as one of the centerpieces of its Italian Baroque holdings, and it has long been recognized as one of the finest examples of Gentileschi's luminous, refined manner.

Large canvas with multiple female figures in elaborate costume providing sustained challenge for Gentileschi's drapery painting. The basket in the reeds is rendered with attention to woven texture and moisture. Light falls from a consistent source but must navigate multiple reflective and absorbing surfaces — silk, water, hair, skin — across the breadth of the composition. The infant Moses is depicted with observed infantile anatomy.