Punishment of the Rebels (The Punishment of the Sons of Corah)

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Punishment of the Rebels (The Punishment of the Sons of Corah): Sandro Botticelli

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Sandro Botticelli Various Paintings - Punishment of the Rebels (The Punishment of the Sons of Corah)

Keywords: Punishment, Rebels, Punishment, Sons, Corah

Work Overview: Punishment of the Rebels (The Punishment of the Sons of Corah; The Punishment of Korah and the Stoning of Moses and Aaron)
Artist Sandro Botticelli
Year 1480–1482
Type Fresco
Dimensions 348.5 cm × 570 cm (137.2 in × 220 in)
Location Sistine Chapel, Rome

The Punishment of the Sons of Corah or Punishment of the Rebels is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli, executed in 1480–1482 in the Sistine Chapel, Rome.

On 27 October 1480 Botticelli, together with other Florentine painters, left for Rome, where he had been called as part of the reconciliation project between Lorenzo de' Medici, the de facto ruler of Florence, and Pope Sixtus IV. The Florentines started to work in the Sistine Chapel as early as the Spring of 1481, along with Pietro Perugino, who was already there.

The theme of the decoration was a parallel between the Stories of Moses and those of Christ, as a sign of continuity between the Old and the New Testament. A continuity also between the divine law of the Tables and the message of Jesus, who, in turn, chose Peter (the first bishop of Rome) as his successor: this would finally result in a legitimation of the latter's successors, the popes of Rome.

Botticelli, helped by numerous assistants, painted three scenes. On 17 February 1482 his contract was renovated, including the other scenes to complete the chapel's decoration. However, on the 20th of the same month, his father died: he returned to Florence, where he remained.

The painting depicts three episodes and tells of a rebellion by the Hebrews against Moses and Aaron. On the right the rebels attempt to stone Moses after becoming disenchanted by their trials on their emigration from Egypt. Joshua has placed himself between the rebels and Moses, protecting him from the stoning. The center scene shows the rebellion with Korah and the conspirators being driven out by Moses and Aaron, as high priest wearing the papal diadem. To the left, the ground opens and the two principal conspirators sink into it. The children of Korah are spared the fate of their father.

The intended message of the painting is clear, no one should doubt the authority of the Pope over the Church. The power of the papacy was constantly being questioned at the time.

The fresco is from the cycle of the life of Moses in the Sistine Chapel. It is located in the fifth compartment on the south wall.

The message of this painting provides the key to an understanding of the Sistine Chapel as a whole before Michelangelo's work. The fresco, located in the fifth compartment on the south wall, reproduces three episodes, each of which depicts a rebellion by the Hebrews against God's appointed leaders, Moses and Aaron, along with the ensuing divine punishment of the agitators. On the right-hand side, the revolt of the Jews against Moses is related, the latter portrayed as an old man with a long white beard, clothed in a yellow robe and an olive-green cloak. Irritated by the various trials through which their emigration from Egypt was putting them, the Jews demanded that Moses be dismissed. They wanted a new leader, one who would take them back to Egypt, and they threatened to stone Moses; however, Joshua placed himself protectively between them and their would-be victim, as depicted in Botticelli's painting.

The centre of the fresco shows the rebellion, under the leadership of Korah, of the sons of Aaron and some Levites, who, setting themselves up in defiance of Aaron's authority as high priest, also offered up incense. In the background we see Aaron in a blue robe, swinging his incense censer with an upright posture and filled with solemn dignity, while his rivals stagger and fall to the ground with their censers at God's behest. Their punishment ensues on the left-hand side of the picture, as the rebels are swallowed up by the earth, which is breaking open under them. The two innocent sons of Korah, the ringleader of the rebels, appear floating on a cloud, exempted from the divine punishment.

The principal message of these scenes is made manifest by the inscription in the central field of the triumphal arch: "Let no man take the honour to himself except he that is called by God, as Aaron was." The fresco thus holds a warning that God's punishment will fall upon those who oppose God's appointed leaders. This warning also contained a contemporary political reference through the portrayal of Aaron in the fresco, depicted wearing the triple-ringed tiara of the Pope and thus characterized as the papal predecessor. It was a warning to those questioning the ultimate authority of the Pope over the Church. The papal claims to leadership were God-given, their origin lay in Christ giving Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven and thereby granting him privacy over the young Church. Perugino painted this crucial element of the doctrine of papal supremacy immediately opposite Botticelli's fresco.

During their journey through the desert Korah, Dathan and Abiram revolt against Moses's leadership. God punishes the lot - the ringleaders plus 250 followers - by having the earth swallow them whole.

There are three scenes in this fresco, all of them with Moses in the foreground. On the right, Joshua stops rebels ready to stone Moses. In the center, Aaron (with miter) is attacked by people who dispute his priesthood. On the left, Moses calls on God to punish the rebels.

The arch in the back is the Arch of Constantine, built near the Coliseum in Rome. Constantine was the first christian Roman emperor. According to a medieval document (that later was prove to be false) he gave worldly power to the popes. Pope Sixtus obviously wanted to mention that in his chapel.

The arch is also shown in the fresco on the opposing wall: The handing of the keys to Peter.

The painting depicts three episodes and tells of a rebellion by the Hebrews against Moses and Aaron. On the right the rebels attempt to stone Moses after becoming disenchanted by their trails on their emigration from Egypt. Joshua has placed himself between the rebels and Moses protecting him from the stoning. The center scene shows the rebellion led by Korah and on the left the rebels group together waiting to receive God's punishment.
The message is clear, no one should doubt the authority of the Pope over the Church. The power of the papacy was constantly being questioned at the time. This painting serves as a reminder that the Pope's leadership was granted by God when he gave Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven.

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Punishment of the Rebels (The Punishment of the Sons of Corah)

Sandro Botticelli

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