Discover Dijon: Well of Moses

The well of Moses was the greatest creation of Claus Sluter who was the most creative and most powerful sculptor in the late middle ages.

At the end of the 14th century, the Chartreuse de Champmol monastery was intended to be the burying place for the Duke of Burgundy- Phillip the Bold and his family.

The well once consisted of a large crucification scene with a tall slender Cross surmounting a hexagonal base.

The figures depicted in the Wall of Moses are Jesus Christ and the Old Testament Prophets: Moses, David, Jeremiah, Zachariah, Daniel and Isaiah, who have foreseen the death of Christ on the Cross.

These life sized figures are displayed in a hexagonal manner as to guide the viewer all the way around. This allows to make eye-contact with the figures on every side.

Standing on slender colonnades on the corners are six mourning Angels.

The work was damaged during The French Revolution. Only fragments of the crucification scene have survived and and are now housed by the Musée Archéologique in Dijon. The hexagonal base is now in the Hôpital de la Chartreuse and can be visited by tourists.