Artwork
Moses and the Burning Bush
Moses and the Burning Bush is an oil painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist Livio Mehus. It dates from 1668 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Overview
Dark, swirling clouds dominate the sky, while the fiery bush emits a stark, radiant light that illuminates the central figures.
Livio Mehus’s oil painting *Moses and the Burning Bush* (1668) presents a dramatic biblical episode in which Moses, while shepherding his flock, encounters a luminous, flaming bush on a storm‑tossed hillside. The composition places a seated, cloaked figure beside a standing companion holding a staff, with a few tranquil sheep nearby. Dark, swirling clouds dominate the sky, while the fiery bush emits a stark, radiant light that illuminates the central figures.
Subject & Meaning
The work visualises the moment from Exodus when Yahweh reveals Himself to Moses through a burning bush that is not consumed. Mehus captures the tension between the divine presence and the ordinary pastoral setting, emphasizing Moses’s awe and the miraculous nature of the encounter. The calm sheep contrast with the supernatural fire, underscoring the theme of divine revelation amid everyday life.
Technique & Style
Executed in the Flemish Baroque tradition, the painting employs strong chiaroscuro to heighten drama: deep shadows envelop the landscape while the bush’s glow creates a focused, almost theatrical illumination. Mehus’s handling of oil paint renders the rocky terrain and turbulent sky with textured brushwork, and the figures are rendered with a naturalistic yet idealised manner typical of mid‑17th‑century Baroque art.
History & Provenance
Born in Oudenaarde in 1630, Mehus spent much of his career in Italy, serving as court painter to Prince Mattias de’ Medici in Florence. *Moses and the Burning Bush* was produced during his later Florentine period and later entered the collection of Denmark’s Statens Museum for Kunst, where it remains on view.
Context
Mehus’s oeuvre includes religious narratives alongside allegorical, mythological, and portrait commissions. This painting reflects the Counter‑Reformation’s emphasis on vivid, emotionally charged biblical scenes, while also showcasing the cross‑cultural influences of a Flemish artist working within an Italian court environment, merging northern realism with Italian Baroque dynamism.
Artist & collection
Artist
Lieven Mehus or Livio Mehus (1630, in Oudenaarde – 7 August 1691, in Florence) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and engraver of the Baroque period, who trained and worked in Italy.
