An exceptional recent acquisition: a rare preparatory drawing of Jacques (or Jacob) Jordaens’s painting Moses and his Ethiopian Wife. The study reveals Jordaens’s creative process and highlights how modern his approach was in his time.
Jordaens’s painting of Moses and his Ethiopian wife makes a powerful statement about equality. Recently, however, researchers discovered that this work draws on an earlier study. This discovery led the Rubenshuis to acquire the valuable preparatory drawing, which gives a unique insight into Jordaens’s creative process.
The connection between the drawing and painting is not immediately apparent, given how different the compositions are from each other. Nonetheless, the similarities are striking. Moses stands on the right in the drawing. His ‘horns’, like tufts of hair that stick up, are also visible in the painting. So is his frown, pointed nose, red cheek and dark beard. Even the hand gesture and folds of his robes are similar.
Moses is usually depicted with the Ten Commandments, but in this painting, the gaze is inevitably drawn to the beautifully dressed black woman next to him: his Ethiopian wife, possibly Zipporah. Moses appears to be confronting us, making a powerful hand gesture. Perhaps he wants us to recognise his African wife as an equal.
He also had to defend her in the Old Testament. In the book of Numbers, Moses’ siblings, Miriam and Aaron, criticise him for having married a black woman. God’s punishment of Miriam is swift: she is struck with leprosy for seven days and is banished from the camp.
While the drawing and painting are both inspired by this story, they are different. The preparatory sketch draws on the biblical text very literally: you see Moses next to his brother and sister and God in a cloud. The painting, meanwhile, depicts Moses and his wife. The cloud is gone, and the stone tablets have been added. Moses also directs his gaze elsewhere.
Jordaens has thus shifted the focus. The emphasis is no longer on disapproval but on love. Aaron and Miriam have disappeared, and Moses’ wife has taken their place. She is depicted not as an African stereotype but as an individual—a woman with a personality of her own. This is astonishingly progressive for the 17th century.
Moses’ position has also changed. In the drawing, he seems to be talking to his brother in an attempt to convince him. In the painting, Moses gazes straight at us. His message about Christian charity – which is inscribed in the Tablets of Law he holds – thus becomes a message to us all.
Jordaens is often accused of choosing the easy route. The sketch, which offers a rare insight into his creative process, proves that the contrary is true. We see an artist who is searching, thinking and adjusting: about composition, meaning and how to tell a more powerful story.
We have no idea whether Jordaens ever painted an African woman from life. What is clear, however, is that – like Rubens – he depicted African figures as humans. The nuances of skin tone and individual traits attest to his respect, whereas his predecessors and contemporaries often resorted to caricatures and clichés.
This insight into Jordaens’s creative process shows how progressive the artist was. He is one of just a handful of old masters of Western art to critically examine the relationship between white and black people in his time. His painting shows that even 400 years ago, some people were already fighting for equality.
The painting Moses and his Ethiopian Wife is part of the collection of the Rubenshuis in Antwerp (Belgium). The canvas is on display at The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore (U.S.A) until October 2027.
