Номер объектаM2025/082:013
НазваниеMoses and Pharaoh
Создатель Perle Hessing (artist)
ОписаниеPerle Hessing, Moses and Pharaoh, Oil on canvas, initialed PH and dated (unclear) 1978.
This biblical scene from the Book of Exodus, painted in Hessing's naive style, depicts Moses with a serpent in his hands, a reference to the sign performed before Pharaoh in which Aaron's rod turns into a snake; Pharaoh, wearing a crown is flanked by courtiers and guards. The king sits before a lion, a traditional symbol of strength and authority. To the left, Egyptian workers are shown labouring on stone structures. Above, two angels glide through the sky. In the distance are stylised palm trees.
Hessing's composition condenses several aspects of the Exodus story into one tableau, combining the miraculous sign of the serpent with imagery of Israelite servitude. Labourers, divine messengers and emblematic animals form part of this scene.
Self-taught, naive-style painter, Perle Hessing, draws on her Jewish faith, childhood memories, and personal story of survival. Born in 1908 in Poland, later settling in Australia in 1951, she began painting in her fifties, encouraged by Desiderius Orban (1884-1986), a Hungarian-Australian painter and art teacher. Her work is inspired by biblical stories from the Old Testament, folklore of shtetl life, Jewish rituals, as well as lived experience as a migrant. Her art is symbolic, blending narrative with personal and collective memory. Perle is the mother of artist Leonard Hessing (1931-2004), who was part of Australia's abstract expressionists. Keen to see how he might succeed in Europe, he ended up in London. She moved to the UK in circa 1973 where she died in 2001. In 2023, a collection of 24 paintings was generously donated to the Sydney Jewish Museum by her grandson, Theo Hessing.
This biblical scene from the Book of Exodus, painted in Hessing's naive style, depicts Moses with a serpent in his hands, a reference to the sign performed before Pharaoh in which Aaron's rod turns into a snake; Pharaoh, wearing a crown is flanked by courtiers and guards. The king sits before a lion, a traditional symbol of strength and authority. To the left, Egyptian workers are shown labouring on stone structures. Above, two angels glide through the sky. In the distance are stylised palm trees.
Hessing's composition condenses several aspects of the Exodus story into one tableau, combining the miraculous sign of the serpent with imagery of Israelite servitude. Labourers, divine messengers and emblematic animals form part of this scene.
Self-taught, naive-style painter, Perle Hessing, draws on her Jewish faith, childhood memories, and personal story of survival. Born in 1908 in Poland, later settling in Australia in 1951, she began painting in her fifties, encouraged by Desiderius Orban (1884-1986), a Hungarian-Australian painter and art teacher. Her work is inspired by biblical stories from the Old Testament, folklore of shtetl life, Jewish rituals, as well as lived experience as a migrant. Her art is symbolic, blending narrative with personal and collective memory. Perle is the mother of artist Leonard Hessing (1931-2004), who was part of Australia's abstract expressionists. Keen to see how he might succeed in Europe, he ended up in London. She moved to the UK in circa 1973 where she died in 2001. In 2023, a collection of 24 paintings was generously donated to the Sydney Jewish Museum by her grandson, Theo Hessing.
Дата 1978
ТемаJewish life, Jewish artists, , family life
Наименованиеpaintings
Материалcanvas, oil paint
Размерность
- width: 490.00 mm
height: 780.00 mm
Кредитная линияSydney Jewish Museum collection, donated by Theo Hessing.
In appreciation to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) for supporting this archival project.