Jacob de Wit was born in Amsterdam and received his early training as an apprentice to Albert van Spiers. He later studied with Jacob van Hal in Antwerp. He is known as a leading Rococo painter of interiors in eighteenth-century Holland. In 1735, de Wit was chosen by the City Council of Amsterdam to provide a decorative scheme for its Council Chambers. Moses and the Seventy Elders was one of the subjects to be depicted. The theme of Moses selecting his advisors would have been understood as an appropriate allusion to the role of the city councilors. Jacob de Wit prepared several small-scale representations of his plan for the completed piece. The sketch seen here is of interest because it presents the work as a tapestry, thus differing significantly from the mural that was ultimately executed. This work relates closely to two known oil sketches, one found in the Musée Picardie in Amiens, and the other Bijbels Museum in Amsterdam.