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Pieter Pourbus , Flemish, 1523/24-1584

Title

The Golden Calf

Date1550s

MediumOil on oak panel

Dimensions

92.7 x 148.5 cm

Credit LinePurchased, 1882

Object numberNGI.189

DescriptionPourbus was the leading painter of altarpieces and portraits in Bruges during the second half of the sixteenth century. Although his figure types and painting techniques were influenced by Italian paintings of the High Renaissance, he adhered to the bright colours and precision of the Bruges school of painting. The style of this painting is characteristic of the artist’s work of the late 1550s.

The subject of the main scene is taken from the Book of Exodus, which relates how the Israelites, during the temporary absence of Moses, fell into idolatry and began to worship the golden calf that his brother Aaron had cast. Pourbus represents them dancing around the elevated statue. Indeed, the artist seems to be more interested in portraying the festivities and the still-life objects than in the religious essence of the story. When Moses returned from Mount Sinai he threw the tablets of the Law on the ground and broke them. This subsequent moment is depicted in the left background, while in the distance on the right, the Israelites are shown melting down their golden vessels to make the golden calf.
ProvenancePurchased, Foster, London, 1882 Exhibition HistoryVan Memling tot Pourbus, Brugge en de Renaissance, Brugge, 1998

Label TextPourbus was the leading painter of altarpieces and portraits in Bruges during the second half of the sixteenth century. Although his figure types and painting techniques were influenced by Italian paintings of the High Renaissance, he adhered to the bright colours and precision of the Bruges school of painting. This large panel represents the Israelites who, during the temporary absence of Moses, fell into idolatry and began worshipping the golden calf, cast by his brother Aaron. The artist seems to be more interested in portraying the festivities and the still-life objects than in the religious essence of the story.