Moses Defending the Daughters of Jethro c. 1647

Curator: This delicate drawing is Nicolas Poussin's "Moses Defending the Daughters of Jethro," currently housed at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It feels so immediate. The monochrome wash gives it a raw, urgent quality. Like a newsreel still from antiquity, focused on bodies in motion. Curator: Poussin returns to the biblical narrative, engaging with themes of justice and intervention. Consider the power dynamics at play—Moses, an outsider, challenging established norms to protect vulnerable women. Editor: I'm drawn to the process itself. You can almost trace the hand of Poussin, figuring it out on the page. The quickness of the marks, the layered washes—it’s about labor. Curator: Absolutely, and if we examine Poussin's influences—his dialogue with classical and Renaissance sources—we see how he’s not just illustrating a story, but commenting on power, gender, and social responsibility. Editor: So the materiality speaks to both the immediate action and the larger historical context. It's a beautiful tension between the immediacy of its making and the layered narratives it holds.