"Worshipping of the Golden Calf"

Lucas van Leyden - Oil
This well-preserved triptych was intended for domestic use for an unknown patron. The interlocking composition shows the people of Israel disobeying God's commandment by setting up a golden calf in the desert of Sinai and giving themselves over to dissipation. This took place after the long absence of their leader Moses, who was communing with God on Mount Sinai. When he returned after 40 days and 40 nights bearing the stone tables of the law on which God had written the Ten Commandments, he found the people dancing in a frenzy around the idolatrous image. Moses is depicted twice in the central panel. First he appears as a minuscule figure kneeling on a rocky overhang surrounded by black clouds, and then he is seen slightly lower down the mountain, this time accompanied by his servant, discovering the idolatry of the people and throwing down the stone tablets in fury. Below that in the middle, still in the background, is a small orchestra on the left, elated couples dancing around the calf, and on the right a group among the trees engaged in a round dance. The festive Israelites are scattered across the foreground of all three panels.