Latest news with #Moses'
Spectator
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Spectator
The naked truth about life modelling
When I left university, I prepared for a short spell of poverty while I sent off amusing and opinionated articles to newspaper editors who needed the work of smart alecks like me to entertain their readers. My short spell of poverty lasted 17 years. In the meantime, I survived on odd jobs, including a stint as a life model. 'Starts at ten,' said Piers, a friend who taught at a college in Kensington. Before my shift, I flipped through Ernst Gombrich's The Story of Art in case a life model was expected to know the classical poses by heart. I imagined Piers starting me off with an easy one: 'The Thinker' by Rodin, or 'Moses' by Michelangelo, or 'The Martyrdom of St Sebastian' by Mantegna. Or he might challenge my scholar-ship by calling for 'Laocoön and his Sons' by Agesander of Rhodes, which requires the model to wear a look of tragic startlement while wrestling with two deadly pythons. And I rehearsed the most celebrated pose of all, Leonardo's 'Vitruvian Man'. Standing upright, gazing intently at the mirror, I extended my arms on either side of me. Naturally, I tried various time-settings. Ten to two, quarter to three, and so on. I arrived early and found Piers arranging the seats in a semi-circle. He nodded towards a utility cupboard which doubled as my changing room. Inside, amid boxes of crayons and paints, I removed all my clothes. I could hear the students gathering on the other side of the door. Piers knocked sharply twice. 'Ready.' I turned the handle and walked out stark naked into the studio.
Otago Daily Times
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Art seen: May 22
"The Splendour of Ukiyo-e", various artists Brett McDowell Gallery The rise in appreciation for Japanese Ukiyo-e art since its time of creation is nothing short of remarkable. Originally viewed in much the same way that we today might regard photographs on calendars or mass-produced posters, the rise of interest in asian art in Europe in the final years of the 19th century began a rise in the perceived worth of the art, to the point where it is now seen as a high-point in Japanese creative culture. The low-art origins are a reason why good quality prints are often something of a rarity. Brett McDowell Gallery has made an annual ritual of its exhibitions of Japanese prints, and this year's collection is a fine one, featuring several better-known artists, most notably the Utagawa school's Kunisada. Many of the pieces are single frame images, displaying scenes in the real or imagined daily life of high society — the "floating world" which gives Ukiyo-e art its name. The current display also includes several impressive multiple-panel pieces, perhaps the most remarkable of which is the three-piece Natural Flowers cooling off on the Sumidagawa by Nobukazu, its effectively composed night river scene aglow with rich blues and reds. "Glass Harbour", Russell Moses (Milford Gallery) The rich colours of rippling water are also much to the fore in an exhibition of Russell Moses' impressionistic arrays at Milford Gallery. Moses' art has long concentrated on the play of light on the surfaces of plants and water, creating multiple windows on the world through his grids of small geometric forms. In his latest exhibition, the artist concentrates on the rippling waters of Otago Harbour, as seen from his Port Chalmers home. His work has changed subtly for his previous series, incorporating here highly reflective paint rather than his former pearlescent surfaces. Ripples are deliberately featured in this series, created by ridges in the painted surface and the resultant effect is works in which the light shimmers and shifts as the viewer moves around them. The use of multiple colours within specific works is also a departure, allowing the pieces to suggest both the water and reflections of the land beyond. In a couple of the works, a mirror black surface is used to suggest night waters, also a nod to the art of Moses' late friend Ralph Hotere. The artist's deliberate association of the painted surface with the geometries of music comes to the fore in several pieces where ovals of flat white become visual chords on the surface of the waters. "Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award 2023", various artists (Tūhura Otago Museum) With this year's Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Awards drawing towards their conclusion, Tūhura Otago Museum is displaying finalists from the 2023 awards, allowing an opportunity to see the standards and styles the competition engenders. The competition's aim is simple: Emerging Māori artists are encouraged to create works honouring their tūpuna, playing out the line of their whakapapa to their ancestors. Despite the modern media used, this is perhaps the most traditional of Māori art subjects, the honouring of those that went before. The award is a fitting legacy for Te Kiingi. The works are appropriately being displayed in the Tangata Whenua Gallery, where they are interspersed with the permanent displays of Māori history. Pieces range from the purely representational to the more abstract or expressionistic; photorealistic paintings are presented alongside the symbolism of a broom and a three-panel poem. The winning work by Stevei Houkāmau (Ngāto Porou, Te Whanau-a-Apanui) uses a necklace as an inspiration, with each of its stones a memory-trace leading back to the artist's ancestor. Many fine and imaginative pieces are present, with highlights including paintings by Robert Pritchard-Blunt, Marie Kyle and Jody Tupara, the aforementioned poem by Trinity Thompson-Browne, an impressive carved work by Tukiri Tini, and a clever group sports photograph by Bodie Friend. By James Dignan
Epoch Times
13-05-2025
- General
- Epoch Times
Exploring Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema's ‘The Finding of Moses'
The Jewish holiday of Passover commemorates the Israelites' liberation, led by Moses, from slavery in Egypt. The Hebrew prophet's beginnings has been a popular theme in art history explored in paintings, drawings, frescos, prints, stained glass, and illuminated manuscripts by both Jewish and Christian artists. One of the most famous examples is the 1904 painting 'The Finding of Moses' by Anglo-Dutch artist Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema. The textual reference for this narrative comes from Exodus, the second book of the Bible. At the start, the Pharaoh decrees that all Jewish male newborns in Egypt be thrown into the Nile River. To avoid this fate for her son, Moses' mother places him in the reeds by the river in a papyrus basket. The baby is found and removed from the water by none other than the king's daughter. The princess knows that he is Jewish, but adopts him anyway, naming him Moses, which means 'to draw out.' Watching this scene at a distance is Moses' sister. She emerges, offering to secure a nurse for the baby and chooses their own mother. The interior decoration of one of the world's oldest known synagogues, called Dura-Europos Synagogue, contained frescos of the life of Moses on its western wall. One of the wall's registers illustrates the finding of Moses. The Synagogue dates to the mid-3rd century and is in modern-day Syria. The building's extensive, colorful wall paintings are unique, with nothing comparable in the art of Jewish antiquity. The Synagogue was uncovered in the 1930s, during excavations by a Yale-French archaeological team. It had spent over a millennium beneath layers of sand. The artworks were later transferred to the National Museum in Damascus. A fresco depicting Moses's discovery in the Dura-Europos Synagogue from the mid-3rd Century A.D. Public Domain European Depictions Christian artists were interested in the story of Moses's beginnings, in part because his tale was viewed as a precursor to the New Testament's Flight into Egypt. In that chronicle, Jesus flees to Egypt with his family, escaping King Herod's ordered massacre of Jewish male infants in Bethlehem. There were specific regional reasons European artists in the Renaissance and Baroque periods gravitated towards the finding of Moses. The Venetian artist Related Stories 3/17/2024 5/4/2025 "The Finding of Moses," circa 1580, by Paolo Veronese. Oil on canvas; 22 2/5 inches by 17 inches. Prado National Museum, Madrid. Public Domain Veronese's greatest version is at the Prado and dates to circa 1580. The figures in the foreground are in a pastoral locale. At the left is a body of water that leads to a cityscape in the background. This verdant atmosphere, coupled with the lavish brocade dress of the Pharaoh's daughter and her attendants' costumes, reveal that Veronese contemporized the story's ancient Egyptian setting. During the 17th century, the Dutch identified with several accounts from the Hebrew Bible, including the Book of Esther and the story of Moses. Regarding the latter, they saw a parallel between the Israelites Egyptian enslavement with the oppressive Spanish rule of their own territory, including how both peoples were freed due to courageous leadership. "The Finding of Moses," circa 1655, by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. Reed pen and brown ink with white opaque watercolor; 7 3/8 inches by 9 1/4 inches. Thaw Collection, The Morgan Library and Museum, New York. Public Domain At the Morgan Library is a dramatic drawing by Rembrandt (1606–1669) of the Finding of Moses. It dates to around 1655 and is one of many works on paper by the artist of biblical subjects. At its center is the Pharaoh's daughter, who stands in resplendent dress under a large parasol. At the lower right, Moses is rescued from the water as his semi-concealed sister watches the event unfold. The Italian Baroque artist "Finding of Moses," 1630, by Orazio Gentileschi. Oil on canvas; 101 inches by 118 1/2 inches. The National Gallery, London. Public Domain Gentileschi's elegant pictures from his 12-year London period are noted for their sumptuous colors and highly detailed depictions of textiles. 'The Finding of Moses,' the NG writes, 'is the most ambitious and displays unparalleled refinement and beauty.' The artist sets the story in countryside that resembles England rather than Egypt. The river at right looks more like the Thames than the Nile. Nine life-size female figures surround baby Moses. As in Veronese and Rembrandt's depictions, the Pharaoh's daughter is clearly delineated from the grouping. Here, she is arrayed in a bejeweled yellow gown. Moses' sister kneels before the princess while Moses' and Miriam's mother hovers protectively. This painting made headlines when the NG purchased it in 2020 after it had been on loan to them for almost 20 years. The price was a staggering $29 million, but it did not set the record for a painting of this subject. That honor is held by Alma-Tadema's 'The Finding of Moses,' which came up for auction at Sotheby's in 2010 with a $3 to $5 million estimate—it sold for $35.9 million. England's Knighted Master A self-portrait of the artist, 1896, by Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Oil on canvas; 26 inches by 21 inches. Uffizi Gallery, Florence. Public Domain Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912) was born in a small Dutch village in the northern Netherlands. His father died when he was a child, and the family struggled financially. He faced pressure to become a lawyer, but he was resolved to follow his passion and become an artist. He recalled later, 'If I have obtained any degree of success, it is because I have always been faithful to my own ideas.' Alma-Tadema trained in the academic style, studying at Antwerp's Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Afterwards, he was mentored by a history painter who also worked as a professor of archaeology. This had a life-changing impact on Alma-Tadema. He became renowned for his opulent paintings of the classical world that reflected his exacting study—from trips, visits to museums, and an extensive library—of the art and objects of antiquity. He moved to London in 1870 and became a British citizen as well as a member of the Royal Academy. Alma-Tadema traveled in exalted circles: He was friends with the Prince and Princess of Wales (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra), and his works were collected by the likes of William Henry Vanderbilt and Henry Clay Frick. Queen Victoria knighted him in 1899, and six years later he received the Order of Merit. After his death, as a final honor, Alma-Tadema was buried in London's famous St. Paul's Cathedral. Sadly, it was soon after this that his beautiful paintings of precision, pageantry, splendor, bold color, and natural light were written off as superficial and old-fashioned. Modernism came to dominate the art world, and it was not until the 1960s that critical approval of his work reemerged. Interestingly, despite this lapse, Alma-Tadema's paintings had a profound impact on Hollywood film. The art critic and museum director Mario Amaya wrote that Alma-Tadema's 'emphasis on personal drama, his wide-angle perspective, and the huge scale of his works set the scene for the epic film industry.' A range of films reflect his influence, from D.W. Griffith's 'Intolerance,' to Cecil B. DeMille's 'Cleopatra' and 'The Ten Commandments,' William Wyler's 'Ben-Hur,' and Ridley Scott's 'Gladiator.' Alma-Tadema's Biblical Canvas "The Finding of Moses," 1904, by Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Oil on canvas; 53 3/4 inches by 84 inches. Private collection. Public Domain One of Alma-Tadema's most famous paintings is 'The Finding of Moses.' The oil on canvas dates to the end of his career. Its inspiration came from a six-week trip in 1902 that the artist took to Egypt for the opening of the Aswan Dam at the invitation of Sir John Aird, its engineer. Aird was a prominent patron of the arts, and his collection consisted mainly of large Academic pictures, including Alma-Tadema's magnificent 'The Roses of Heliogabalus.' Alma-Tadema was artistically inspired by the trip to Egypt, making many sketches and taking photographs. Aird wanted to add another Alma-Tadema painting to his collection and selected the artist's idea of the 'Finding of Moses.' Alma-Tadema worked almost exclusively on it for just under two years. This time-consuming picture was the culmination of his meticulous skill honed over decades. This was an unusual topic for Alma-Tadema, as he rarely painted biblical or even mythological subjects. While his work was deeply rooted in historic accuracy, he did take artistic license throughout his oeuvre in order to create imaginative, enthralling compositions. This painting is no exception. Alma-Tadema positions Moses prominently in a retinue of pomp that features many of his favorite models recognizable from previous artworks, though not necessarily ethnographically correct for an ancient Egyptian setting. The Pharaoh's daughter, who was modeled on Aird's daughter, wears a diadem that was copied from a rare silver example now in Leiden's Rijksmuseum van Oudheden. Other accurately depicted objects include her gold pectoral and cuff bracelet, fox-tailed flail, and the chair in which she is carried, along with jewelry worn by the servants and priests. Front and back view of diadem, circa 1647 B.C., in Thebes, Egypt. Silver, gold, glass (material) and faience (composite material); 71/4 inches by 7 inches. National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden, Netherlands. Rijksmuseum van Oudheden The viewer's eyes are drawn throughout the picture plane. The composition has strong horizontals, with a frieze-like composition that implies movement. There are pronounced verticals, too. On the left side of the composition is a red granite statue with a hieroglyphic inscription, and there are white ceramic pots in the center and at right. Sotheby's cataloguing notes, 'The intricately-described decorations of the foreground contrast with the far bank's teams of Hebrew slaves, their blurred shapes suggesting distance and the hazy day's heat, while the distinct rose-colored Pyramids of Gizeh mark the horizon line.' Lush florals abound, imbuing the scene with abundance and color. The foreground features delphiniums, which were cultivated in ancient Egypt, by a limestone wall. Amidst the flora are a smattering of yellow butterflies. Moses's basket is decorated with lotuses and the princess holds a single flower. Additionally, lotuses are entwined around the ostrich feather fans used for her benefit, and they adorn the heads of her female attendants. A detail from "The Finding of Moses," 1904–1905, by Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Public Domain Throughout art history, some artists have recreated the original Exodus elements and others have reimagined the story in their own times. The adaptable nature of the Finding of Moses demonstrates its eternal relevance to people throughout the world and centuries. Sotheby's writes that some contemporaneous viewers considered Alma-Tadema's version 'the most authoritative, faithful interpretation of the famous story.' 'The Finding of Moses' was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1905, and Aird paid 5,250 pounds (over $724,000 today), plus the artist's expenses for it. Just how far Alma-Tadema's stature descended in the ensuing decades is conveyed by the price it fetched when Aird's family auctioned it in 1935; a mere 820 pounds (just over $66,ooo). Alma-Tadema and this special painting have now been restored to rightful prominence. What arts and culture topics would you like us to cover? Please email ideas or feedback to
The Age
22-04-2025
- Sport
- The Age
‘That was real class': Why Mitchell Moses reminds Eddie Jones of an English rugby legend
Moses returned from a foot injury to play his first game of the season, and was sensational in the 38-22 win over the Wests Tigers on Easter Monday. He finished with four try assists, including the kick for Simonsson, and a cutout ball for Josh Addo-Carr's first four-pointer. But Moses' defining moment came in the 54th minute, when Tigers winger Sunia Turuva and Eels forward Luca Moretti were binned for their part in a melee that had spilled over the sideline at CommBank Stadium. Moses gathered the Eels playing group into a huddle and urged them to stay composed. The Tigers players were scattered across the field, with nobody looking or talking to each other. Jones said of Moses' leadership at that crucial stage of the game: 'It was going to be [interesting] how both teams responded to what had just happened … which team could get their focus the quickest. And that was Parramatta under Mitch. He gave them the drive and direction. Loading 'Mitch's ability to get the players together and work together, they kept fighting for each other. 'With Mitchell coming back, you could also see the quality of Rylsey's coaching coming through. You need someone on the field who coaches and runs the team how you want them to be coached, and Mitchell does that. If you don't have that, it's really difficult.' Five-eighth Dylan Brown was arguably the biggest winner from Moses' return, and relished the return to his running game rather than steering the team around the park. Seeing Brown run for more than 160m and relish the freedom, however, must have been on Newcastle's minds after they paid $13 million over the next 10 years for him to run the show like Moses.
Sydney Morning Herald
22-04-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘That was real class': Why Mitchell Moses reminds Eddie Jones of an English rugby legend
Moses returned from a foot injury to play his first game of the season, and was sensational in the 38-22 win over the Wests Tigers on Easter Monday. He finished with four try assists, including the kick for Simonsson, and a cutout ball for Josh Addo-Carr's first four-pointer. But Moses' defining moment came in the 54th minute, when Tigers winger Sunia Turuva and Eels forward Luca Moretti were binned for their part in a melee that had spilled over the sideline at CommBank Stadium. Moses gathered the Eels playing group into a huddle and urged them to stay composed. The Tigers players were scattered across the field, with nobody looking or talking to each other. Jones said of Moses' leadership at that crucial stage of the game: 'It was going to be [interesting] how both teams responded to what had just happened … which team could get their focus the quickest. And that was Parramatta under Mitch. He gave them the drive and direction. Loading 'Mitch's ability to get the players together and work together, they kept fighting for each other. 'With Mitchell coming back, you could also see the quality of Rylsey's coaching coming through. You need someone on the field who coaches and runs the team how you want them to be coached, and Mitchell does that. If you don't have that, it's really difficult.' Five-eighth Dylan Brown was arguably the biggest winner from Moses' return, and relished the return to his running game rather than steering the team around the park. Seeing Brown run for more than 160m and relish the freedom, however, must have been on Newcastle's minds after they paid $13 million over the next 10 years for him to run the show like Moses.
