Miryam's Critique of Moshe in Art/0
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Miryam's Critique of Moshe in Art
Introduction
Bemidbar 12 revolves around Miryam and Aharon's critique of Moshe and his Cushite marriage and Hashem's subsequent reprimand and punishment. Each of the images shown here illustrates a different phase of the story. Jacob Jordaens1 depicts only the married couple, Moshe and his Cushite wife, while the engraving2 focuses on the central part of the story, the slander. The stained glass3 moves to the story's conclusion, the punishment of Miryam and request for mercy. The artists differ in both whom they decide to portray and how they depict each of the characters, highlighting central questions of the text itself: who was Moshe's Cushite wife? About what were Miryam and Aharon upset? Is this a story about racism, sibling rivalry or something else entirely?Contrasting Images
Jordeans Jordaen's painting is, in essence, a dual portrait of Moshe and his wife. Though painted as a couple, there is no hint of intimacy between the two and nothing that draws them together. Moshe stands in front, richly clothed in blue and red, holding what appears to be the tablet of the law in his left hand. His right hand lays open, in an unreadable gesture, as he stares forward at the viewer. His wife, a black women, stands behind him, her darkness contrasting with his whiteness. She, too, is richly garbed, wearing a gold cloak and hat. She, like Moshe, looks at the viewer rather than her spouse, her head angled away from him. Her right hand is raised and points to her heart..
Engraving The engraving is a much busier composition, with
Relationship to the Biblical Text
The artists' choices reflect certain ambiguities in the Biblical text and different possible interpretive stances:
