1602, Karel van Mander, The Dance around the Golden Calf -- Frans Hals Museum (Haarlem)
From the museum label: Don't be fooled by the colourful company and the festive scene in the foreground, because the main action is in the background. Van Mander has employed a clever trick, because the revellers to the left and right lead us into the distance. There the prophet Moses, having descended from Mount Sinai after forty days and nights, finds the Israelites dancing around a golden idol. Note that Van Mander moved this biblical story from the wilderness to a woodland.
1602, Karel van Mander, The Dance around the Golden Calf -- Frans Hals Museum (Haarlem)
From the museum label: Don't be fooled by the colourful company and the festive scene in the foreground, because the main action is in the background. Van Mander has employed a clever trick, because the revellers to the left and right lead us into the distance. There the prophet Moses, having descended from Mount Sinai after forty days and nights, finds the Israelites dancing around a golden idol. Note that Van Mander moved this biblical story from the wilderness to a woodland.