Stories of Moses and the Evangelists

Stories of Moses and the Evangelists
Fire sent down from heaven on Korach, Datan, and Aviram
Artist	Domenico Beccafumi
Year	1538-1539
Medium	oil on panel
Location	Pisa Cathedral

The Stories of Moses and the Evangelists are a series of oil on panel paintings by Domenico Beccafumi, dating to circa 1538-1539 and hanging in Pisa Cathedral. They form part of a decorative scheme of 27 panels, only completed at the end of the 17th century, also including works by Andrea del Sarto and Il Sodoma.

History

Intended for the ceiling of an apse, the two scenes of Moses were commissioned by Antonio Urbani, the Operaio della Primarizale (Vasari mistakenly states they were commissioned by his successor in that office, Sebastiano della Seta). Moses Smashing the Tablets of the Law was paid for on completion on 22 June 1538 and Fire Sent Down from Heaven paid for on completion on 29 February 1539 (1538 according to the Pisan calendar). The artist was paid 350 lira for each work.

Soon afterwards four paintings of the Evangelists were commissioned for the neighbouring niches - Saint John and Saint Luke were completed on 1 July 1539, then Saint Matthew and Saint Mark on 25 December 1539. The artist was paid 200 lira for each of the four paintings.

List of works

Image	Subject	Date	Measurements	Notes
	Moses Smashing the Tablets of the Law	1538	197x139 cm
	Fire sent down from heaven on Korach, Datan, and Aviram	1539	197x139 cm	The screaming bearded man on the left may be a self-portrait of the painter.
	Saint John	1539	197x88 cm
	Saint Luke	1539	197x88 cm
	Saint Matthew	1539	197x88 cm
	Saint Mark	1539	197x88 cm

Bibliography

• (in Italian) Anna Maria Francini Ciaranfi, Beccafumi, Sadea Editore/Sansoni, Firenze 1967.