Moses Breaking the Tablets of the Law

For much of the 18th century this Moses went under another painter's name. It was taken for a work by Guercino, the painter from Cento known for deep shadow and raking light. Only the Borghese inventory of 1833 gave it back to Guido Reni, noting that it came close to Guercino's manner. The confusion is easy to follow. Scholars place the picture in the early 1620s, and here Reni lets the darkness in. Moses has come down from Mount Sinai and found his people worshipping the golden calf. One tablet of the Law is raised over his head, the other, covered in Hebrew letters, is still in his left hand, and his mouth is open in a shout under a sky heavy with cloud. By 1657 the canvas was already recorded in the family's collection. Today it is kept in the gallery's storerooms.