In the two weeks since the death of Queen Elizabeth II, I’ve found myself thinking again and again of King Charles. At 73, he has become the oldest person to ascend the British throne. And although few of us are waiting to rule over kingdoms (real ones, anyway), Charles’s experience puts a spotlight on something many of us can relate to: how the opportunities we imagine might transform our lives for the better so rarely happen along the timeline we expect. And sometimes when they do present themselves, we find we’ve already grown accustomed to living without them. Two paintings help me reflect on this more deeply.
“Moses and the Burning Bush”, by 17th-century Dutch artist Gerard Hoet, is an exquisite drawing of an oft-represented scene in western art history. Artists from Raphael and Poussin to Chagall and Keith Haring have evoked the narrative found in the book of Exodus. Born a persecuted Israelite in Egypt, Moses’ mother, in a desperate effort to save him, sails him down the river in a watertight basket. The Pharaoh’s daughter finds and adopts him, and Moses is raised as a leader and prince of Egypt. But at the age of 40, he’s forced to flee Egypt and start a new life.