Horses, riders and banners tumble among the breaking waves.
Bible in art · Exodus
The Submersion of Pharaoh's Army in the Red Sea
Titian · c. 1514/1515 (design); this impression from the edition printed in Venice in 1549
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Titian designed this huge woodcut as a young man, about 1514–1515. It was cut on many wooden blocks and printed on twelve sheets that are joined together; this impression comes from an edition printed in Venice in 1549, as the label at the bottom says.
The sea fills the middle. On the left Pharaoh’s horsemen tumble in the waves; on the right Moses stretches out his staff, with the Israelites safe on the shore.
From the text
- Moses stretching out his hand over the sea (Exodus 14:26–27)
- The waters covering the chariots and horsemen (Exodus 14:28)
- The Israelites safe after crossing on dry ground (Exodus 14:29)
The artist’s own
- Moses holding out a staff over the water
- A walled European city with spires on the far shore
- Soldiers in the armour and banners of Titian’s time
Details
The army in the waves
Moses
In a long robe, he stretches his staff out over the sea.
On the shore
The Israelites stand on dry land with bundles and children.
A distant city
Towers and a tall spire on the far shore.
The label
Printed in Venice in 1549, it names Titian as the one who drew the scene.
Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), Venetian, 1488/1490–1576. National Gallery of Art, Washington (Gift of W.G. Russell Allen, 1947.8.1-2) · Woodcut · NGA Open Access: "Images of these works are available free of charge for any use, commercial or non-commercial, under Creative Commons Zero (CC0)." (NGA open data: published_images.csv openaccess = 1)