Ferdinand Bol 1616 – 1680

Moses' Descent from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments

oil on canvas (423 × 284 cm) — 1662 Royal Palace, Amsterdam

Ferdinand Bol biography

This work is linked to Exodus 34:29

On Mount Sinai Moses was given a second set of tables with the Ten Commandments. He had shattered the first set when his people turned out to worship pagan gods. This time his brother Aaron and the people meet him with enthusiasm.

But they do fear his face, which is still shining after the forty days he spent close to God. Moses has to wear a veil when he speaks with the people.

Bol made this huge canvas for a room in Amsterdam City Hall that was used by the city's magistrates. A depiction of the Ten Commandments was obviously very appropriate in such a chamber.

Rate this work of art: