The Submersion of Pharaoh's Army in the Red Sea

The Submersion of Pharaoh's Army in the Red Sea by Titian is a monumental woodcut print created between 1514 and 1515. Executed relatively early in the artist’s career, this intricate piece demonstrates Titian’s engagement with printmaking, a medium that was crucial for disseminating the innovations of the Italian Renaissance across Europe. Utilizing the inherently bold and contrasting characteristics of the woodcut technique, Titian renders the dramatic biblical narrative from the Book of Exodus, illustrating the moment when God seals the path through the Red Sea, drowning the Egyptian army pursuing the Israelites.

The resulting scene is chaotic and highly detailed, densely packed with struggling horses, capsized chariots, and flailing soldiers consumed by the churning water, emphasizing the terrifying scale of the divine intervention. While Titian is primarily celebrated for his revolutionary oil paintings, his contributions to the production of large-scale prints were significant, reflecting the sophisticated draftsmanship common to 16th-century Italy.

The complexity of The Submersion of Pharaoh's Army in the Red Sea suggests it was intended as a major statement work, potentially printed from multiple blocks, given its ambitious size. This powerful example of Venetian graphic art resides in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Given its cultural importance and historical provenance, the image often falls into the public domain, ensuring scholars and enthusiasts worldwide can access high-resolution images of these master prints.