(Atzgersdorf 1832–1889 Vienna)
Moses on Mount Horeb, oil on canvas, 48.7 x 34.2 cm, unframed, (W)

Provenance:
Private collection Germany;
Dawo Auctions, Saarbrücken, 12. october 2002, lot 32;
Galerie Ruberl Vienna;
Private property, United States of America.

See:
Probably Cornelia Reiter, Anton Romako, published by Bibliothek der Provinz, no. 434 “Moses on Mount Horeb, directing the battle (III)”.
Compare with p. 91, ill. 79.

“This work depicts the supplication of Moses on a hill near Rephidim, supported by Aaron and Hur with whom he prays for a successful outcome to the Israelites’ battle against the Amaleks. This singular selection of a religious theme in the artist’s later work could be the influence of Hermann Rollett, a staunch follower of German Catholicism. Romako obviously demonstrates intense engagement with this theme which he executed using a wide variety of techniques…. The ecstasy of the figures in all the versions are both reminiscent of early Austrian Expressionism and of the pathos of Baroque art. Romako achieved a much more convincing solution for depicting this Old Testament subject than for the customary iconography of the Virgin Mary. Romako’s pioneering manner of interpretation displayed here was developed further in the early Austrian Expressionism of Oskar Kokoschka who, like Romako, also invoked the artistic authority of Franz Maulbertsch (1724–1796) with his expressively overreaching style.”