Antonio Balestra (Verona 1666-1740), Moses saved by the waters of the Nile

In Moses saved, Balestra’s solid formal approach emerges, which lingers in the rendering of the expressive poses of the protagonists and in the balance of the composition. The canvas is perhaps the preparatory study for a painting with a similar subject already sold at Christie’s auction in 1990 (Oil on canvas, 159 × 206 cm): between the two works there are numerous variations, such as the elimination of the small Moor servant on the right, to allow a better rotation of all the female figures around the luminous image of Moses. Further versions of this subject are known, albeit with a somewhat different layout, such as the canvas painted for the ceiling of the Marmorsaal of the castle of Pommersfelden (about 1714-1716) and the one now preserved at the Tadini Academy of Lovere (inv. 282)

Click HERE for a full description in the Catalogue Four Centuries of Painting 2016, pg. 36-37