The Finding of the Infant Moses by Pharaoh's Daughter

Breenbergh shows us an Old Testament story taking place in an imaginary Egypt, with luxuriant European foliage under a grey Northern sky and exquisitely detailed portrayals of antiquities: obelisks, a column, a pyramid and a stela (a carved commemorative slab of stone). Not all these antique objects are Egyptian but Breenbergh crowds them into the picture regardless, to convey that the story he tells is set in ancient times.

The painting tells the story of Moses. The children of Israel were captive in Egypt, and Pharaoh decreed that their male children should be killed in case they grew up to depose him. Moses's mother hid him among reeds by the River Nile, leaving his sister Miriam to stand watch.

Pharaoh's daughter found Moses. She wanted to keep him but needed a wet nurse to feed and care for him. Miriam volunteered to find one, reuniting the baby with his mother. Moses grew up to lead the Israelites to their Promised Land.

Credit: Bequeathed by Richard Simmons, 1847