The Submersion of Pharaoh's Army in the Red Sea

Titian, 1514–15, printed 1549

Download3400 × 2621 px View on a wall Edit

Artist: Titian (Italian, 1490–1576)
Medium: Woodcut
Size: Unframed: 41.9 x 55 cm (16 1/2 x 21 5/8 in.)
Culture: Italy, Venice
Museum: Cleveland Museum of Art
Rights: CC0 — no rights reserved

To make this monumental woodcut—considered one of the most ambitious prints of the Renaissance—Titian probably drew directly on the wooden blocks, after which a skilled cutter completed the blocks. The size rivals that of a painting, and the composition would have hung on a wall. Titian’s bold vision presents nature as a vehicle of God’s mercy and wrath.

Moses, at right, having parted the seas for the Israelites to pass, commands them to close over the Egyptian forces (Exodus 14:21–31). Titian propelled the narrative with remarkable unity, dedicating entire blocks to the turbulent sea and rolling clouds that culminate in a magnificent cliff and Renaissance city. Some have interpreted the scene as an allegory of Venice’s troubles with the League of Cambrai, a military alliance that threatened the island city.