Nicolas Poussin

Moses Rescued from the Waters, 1638, Oil on canvas, 93 x 121 cm, Musée du Louvre, Paris; INV7271, Daniel Arnaudet © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource

Tranquility Restored

Commentary by Devon Abts

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Nicolas Poussin’s 1638 painting of The Finding of Moses conveys a sense of serenity as the infant Moses is rescued from the Nile. As departing clouds indicate the imminent threat to Moses—and, consequently, to Israel—has passed, the artist invites the viewer to rejoice in the momentary reprieve this story presents amidst a broader narrative of genocide and chaos.

The rescue unfolds along the riverbank, where a rosy-cheeked Moses is welcomed into the arms of a royal attendant after being pulled from the water. At the left, Pharaoh’s daughter presides authoritatively over the scene. Her vibrant golden robes stand out against the subtler tones worn by her attendants, indicating her regal status.

Behind this central cluster on the left, a river god representing the Nile reclines with his back to the viewer and glances languidly over his shoulder. The river itself is perfectly calm, reflecting the landscape without any distortion. Even the male servant emerging from the water does not disturb its stillness. Stretching into the distance, its blue-grey hues blend harmoniously with the earthy tones of the architectural backdrop, which features a fortified bridge, a pyramid, and a city.

Against this tranquil background, Poussin renders Moses and his rescuers in colours of joyful brightness. These radiant figures are entirely at one with the serenity of their surroundings. Neither Pharaoh’s daughter nor her attendants seem confounded by their discovery. Indeed, the princess’s disposition is as calm as the Nile. With one arm leaning on her handmaid’s shoulder and the other pointing to Moses, she is statuesque in her elegance: commanding, but compassionate.

Our minds may be tempted to wander to Exodus 7, when divine wrath turns this same river to blood. Yet by presenting this event as a moment of compassion leading to joy, the artist invites us to see beyond fear, to dwell upon God’s long-term promise of peace. In the small but significant miracle of Moses’s deliverance, hope is briefly restored.

See full exhibition for Exodus 1:1–2:10

Exodus 1:1–2:10

Revised Standard Version

Exodus 1

1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: 2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3Isʹsachar, Zebʹulun, and Benjamin, 4Dan and Naphʹtali, Gad and Asher. 5All the offspring of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt. 6Then Joseph died, and all his brothers, and all that generation. 7But the descendants of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong; so that the land was filled with them.

8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. 10Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war befall us, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” 11Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens; and they built for Pharaoh store-cities, Pithom and Ra-amʹses. 12But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. 13So they made the people of Israel serve with rigor, 14and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field; in all their work they made them serve with rigor.

15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphʹrah and the other Puʹah, 16“When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” 17But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. 18So the king of Egypt called the midwives, and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” 19The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and are delivered before the midwife comes to them.” 20So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and grew very strong. 21And because the midwives feared God he gave them families. 22Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”

2 Now a man from the house of Levi went and took to wife a daughter of Levi. 2The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. 3And when she could hide him no longer she took for him a basket made of bulrushes, and daubed it with bitumen and pitch; and she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds at the river’s brink. 4And his sister stood at a distance, to know what would be done to him. 5Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, and her maidens walked beside the river; she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to fetch it. 6When she opened it she saw the child; and lo, the babe was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” 7Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” 8And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. 9And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away, and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son; and she named him Moses, for she said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”

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