Puits de Moïse

The Well of Moses in Dijon is considered the most important work of the Netherlandish sculptor Claus Sluter and now stands in the garden of the former Champmol Charterhouse. The sculptural group was originally created between 1395 and 1405 as part of a monumental Calvary for the monastery's cloister, which was torn down during the French Revolution. The complex stood in the area of the burial church of the Burgundian dukes, where a psychiatric hospital is located today. The surviving fountain structure is housed in a chapel-like protective building with glass windows, which shields the figures from the elements.

At the center of the composition stand six prophet figures, including Moses, David, Jeremiah, Zechariah, Daniel, and Isaiah, arranged on small bases around the base of the fountain. Each figure holds a scroll bearing a prophecy about the death of the Messiah, which gives the work a strongly dramatic and theatrical character. The most powerful figure is Moses, whose tremendous force comes across above all through the richly detailed folds of his robe and his wrathful gaze. His face is almost entirely hidden by a dense beard, which underscores the intensity of his resolve. The figures are conceived as active, emotional presences that speak directly to the viewer.

Historically, the fountain was painted and gilded, which further heightened the effect of the sculptures. The prophets wore gold, red, or blue robes, some decorated with stars or brocade, while golden suns and initials adorned the open surfaces. At the top, a crucifixion group crowned the ensemble, though only fragments of it survive. The work is regarded as the high point of Sluter's career and already shows approaches that would later be found in artists such as Michelangelo, particularly in the characteristic shaping of the figures and the emphasis on inner tension.