The Destruction of Pharaoh's Host

This is a dramatic scene from the Old Testament. The tiny figure of Moses (top left) raises his staff to summon the waters of the Red Sea to pour down upon the Egyptian army. God is concealed in the pillar of cloud and fire and Pharaoh is silhouetted at its base, horrified at the mayhem. Colman painted a number of apocalyptic scenes like this, a popular taste in British art at the time. Divine intervention is shown unleashing nature's forces to destroy evil.