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The Gathering of Manna
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo·c. 1733
Historical Context
The Gathering of Manna, painted around 1733 and now in the Ashmolean Museum, depicts the Old Testament miracle where God provided bread from heaven to sustain the Israelites in the desert. Tiepolo renders the biblical scene with the dynamic composition and luminous palette of his developing mature style, the crowd of grateful Israelites gathering the miraculous food beneath an expansive sky. The subject was popular in religious decoration, particularly in refectory settings where the miraculous feeding paralleled the communal meal. The Ashmolean's Venetian holdings reflect Oxford's long scholarly engagement with Italian art and culture.
Technical Analysis
Executed with luminous palette and attention to airy compositions, the work reveals Giovanni Battista Tiepolo's characteristic approach to composition and surface. The treatment of light and the careful modulation of color create visual richness within a unified pictorial scheme.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the Old Testament miracle of manna from heaven — the Israelites gathering divine bread in the desert rendered with dynamic composition and luminous palette.
- ◆Look at the atmospheric light and airy compositions creating depth while the handling of color unifies the biblical scene.
- ◆Observe Tiepolo's developing mature style around 1733 applied to this dramatic Old Testament subject at the Ashmolean Museum.
