The Getty Obtains Rarely Seen Painting, 'Miracle Of The Quails'

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — On Monday, the J. Paul Getty Museum acquired "The Miracle of the Quails" by the Venetian artist Jacopo Bassano. 

The painting is widely considered Bassano's most exceptional piece, however, it has scantly been available to scholars and has never been seen by the general public. 

Bassano made "The Miracle of the Quails" for Venetian nobleman Domenico Priuli, who originally commissioned the piece in 1554.

"`The Miracle of the Quails' is an exceptional example of Bassano's distinctive artistic style and his juxtaposing of historical subjects with everyday people in a state of poverty," museum director Timothy Potts said in a statement. 

"With its grand scale, this striking and daring painting will become a centerpiece of our 16th-century northern Italian paintings gallery, alongside works by Titian, Veronese, Savoldo, Lotto and Dosso Dossi," he added."

It depicts the biblical tale of the same name found in the Old Testament books: Exodus and Numbers. Bassano painted Aaron and Moses conversing while the Israelites gather the birds that have fallen from the sky.

"This painting perfectly embodies the genre to which Bassano owed his fame during his lifetime: the depiction of biblical themes with a pastoral character, where realistic details from everyday life are incorporated into compositions of great formal sophistication," museum senior curator of 

paintings Davide Gasparotto said.

The Getty plans to display the piece in early November in the museum's North Pavillion galleries. 

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