The Submersion of Pharaoh's Army in the Red Sea

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

The grand scale of Titian’s twelve-sheet woodcut (see 1957.12.1–12) mimics history paintings and large wall hangings. The assembled composition would fit only on a massive wall, a use confirmed by the total lack of early impressions. Only this 1549 state is known, printed from woodblocks studded with wormholes, which appear in the image as tiny white dots. The inscription at lower center of The Submersion describes the Israelites’ persecution under the Egyptian pharaoh and his army’s fate when they followed Moses into the Red Sea. The publisher opportunistically refers to the “great and immortal hand” of Titian in this legend, though the artist was still very much alive.

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