Moses Saved by the Daughter of Pharaoh - Anne Claude de Thubières, Comte de Caylus

An eighteenth-century etching by the Comte de Caylus, reproducing a drawing by Timoteo Viti depicting the discovery of the infant Moses.

This etching by the Comte de Caylus depicts the biblical narrative of the discovery of the infant Moses. The composition is based on a drawing by the Italian Renaissance artist Timoteo Viti, which was held in the collection of Pierre Crozat. Caylus was a significant figure in the eighteenth-century French art world, known for his antiquarian interests and his efforts to reproduce drawings from private collections through printmaking.

The print displays the characteristic linear quality of the period, focusing on the fluid gestures of the figures gathered at the riverbank. The daughter of Pharaoh and her attendants are shown in a moment of discovery, their forms rendered with delicate, precise lines that mimic the appearance of an original ink sketch. The scene avoids heavy shading, relying instead on the clarity of the contours to define the interaction between the figures and the basket containing the child. The work is part of the Recueil Crozat, a project intended to document the finest drawings in French collections for a wider audience of connoisseurs and artists.

As an amateur engraver, Caylus sought to capture the spirit of the original masters rather than produce highly finished, painterly prints. This approach results in a work that feels immediate and spontaneous. The figures are arranged in a circular formation, drawing the eye toward the centre where the infant is revealed. The etching reflects the eighteenth-century fascination with the Italian masters and the systematic cataloguing of European art history. By preserving the visual information of Viti's drawing, Caylus provided a record of a work that might otherwise have remained inaccessible to the public. The print serves as an example of the collaborative nature of art reproduction during the Enlightenment, where the act of engraving functioned as a form of scholarly preservation.