Moses Smashing the Tablets of the Law
Rembrandt·1659
Historical Context
Rembrandt's Moses Smashing the Tablets of the Law from 1659, in the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, captures the moment when Moses, descending from Mount Sinai to find the Israelites worshipping the Golden Calf, shatters the tablets of divine law in righteous fury. The painting's enormous emotional power derives from Rembrandt's treatment of Moses as a figure torn between divine duty and human rage. The subject resonated with the artist's own experience of broken covenants during his period of financial ruin.
Technical Analysis
The monumental figure of Moses dominates the canvas, the tablets raised above his head in a moment of explosive action. Rembrandt's broad, expressive brushwork and dramatic lighting concentrate the viewer's attention on the prophet's anguished face and the descending tablets.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the tablets raised above Moses's head — the moment before the breaking, the stone law held aloft in a gesture of both duty and rage.
- ◆Look at the prophet's anguished face: a man simultaneously fulfilling divine commandment and expressing human fury at the people's betrayal.
- ◆Observe the monumental figure dominating the canvas — Rembrandt's Moses not a gentle lawgiver but a figure of towering moral indignation.
- ◆Find the expressionistic broad brushwork and dramatic lighting that concentrate the viewer's attention on the prophetic face and the descending tablets.
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