We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who donated to help us raise the last £2 million to buy Orazio Gentileschi's tour de force.
This means the painting, the first by Orazio Gentileschi in our collection, will stay on public display in Trafalgar Square for everyone to enjoy now and in the future.
The Finding of Moses has been on loan to us since 2002. It has been at the heart of our Italian Baroque display, making connections with other artists in our collection including Caravaggio, Reni, Rubens, and Van Dyck.
Most recently, this has also included the artist Artemisia Gentileschi, Orazio’s daughter.
Artemisia is the most celebrated female painter of the 17th century; a time when very few women became artists.
Displaying paintings by father and daughter in the same room shows how much Artemisia learnt from Orazio while also developing her own style and technique.
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The painting had been an acquisition priority for us since 1995, when we first attempted to buy it.
Not only is it a wonderful example of Orazio’s rich colouring, skill at painting shiny, sumptuous fabrics, and sense of courtly elegance, ‘The Finding of Moses’ has an important place in British history.
It is the first painting from the time when Orazio travelled to England to be a painter at the court of Charles I in London.
Painted during his 12-year residence, the huge canvas was commissioned for Queen Henrietta Maria to celebrate the birth of the future Charles II and was intended to hang in the Queen’s House at Greenwich.
Thanks to your generosity, we’ve been able to purchase the painting and keep it on public display, for everyone, for ever.
You can see the painting in Room 32.
As a charity, we need your help to achieve great things.
We would value your ongoing friendship and support. Please consider helping us in one of the following ways:
By becoming a Member or a Patron, you will support the work of the Gallery through your membership whilst enjoying special benefits, free access to exhibitions, and exclusive events.
By signing up to make regular donations or a single gift, you will support our daily activities, whether that be enabling the Learning department to engage more people of all ages and backgrounds or helping the Conservation department to continue to care for the collection and keep it in the best condition possible.
By remembering the National Gallery in your will, you will have a lasting impact on the Gallery. A gift in your will costs you nothing during your lifetime but will help to enrich the lives of future generations of art lovers.
Thank you to everyone who donated to our public appeal to #SaveOrazio.
