The Pharaoh's Hosts Engulfed in the Red Sea
Lucas Cranach the Elder1530
Renaissance and Reformation. German Art in the Age of Dürer and Cranach
Cranach depicted the army of the Egyptians drowning in the Red Sea after the people of Israel had crossed the water safely. On the left, Moses, instructed by the angel, is commanding the floods. The divine messenger is a combination of a human form and a column of clouds. This panel, together with The Sacrifice of Isaac (Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen München), probably served as a predella for a triptych. The apostle Paul and the Church Fathers compared the drowning of the pharaoh’s army to baptism, which washes away sin. Another reading of this picture’s theme was surely attractive in the age of the Reformation: the prospect of grace for those who support the “true” faith—and the punishment of their enemies.
- Title: The Pharaoh's Hosts Engulfed in the Red Sea
- Creator: Lucas Cranach the Elder
- Date Created: 1530
- Physical Dimensions: 83.2 × 118.8 cm
- Technique and Material: Linden (?)
- Provenance: Documented in the Altes Schloss Schleissheim in 1637
- Museum: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen München, Staatsgalerie Aschaffenburg
- Inv.-No.: 4558
- ISIL-No.: DE-MUS-178118
- External Link: https://www.pinakothek.de/besuch/staatsgalerien
- Copyright: Photo © Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen München / Sibylle Forster; Text © Renaissance and Reformation: German Art in the Age of Dürer and Cranach, A Cooperation of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, and the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen München, Catalogue of the Exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Nov 20, 2016 – March 26, 2017, Munich: Prestel, 2016; cat. no. 30 / Andreas Plackinger
- Catalogue: https://prestelpublishing.randomhouse.de/book/Renaissance-and-Reformation/Stephanie-Buck/Prestel-com/e504919.rhd
- Artist Dates: 1472 Kronach–1553 Weimar
- Artist Biography: Cranach, whose name derived from his birthplace, Kronach, was presumably trained by his father. Around 1502 Cranach was staying in Vienna, where he produced his first documented works. In 1504 Elector Frederick the Wise of Saxony called him to his court in Wittenberg, where Cranach would head a very large, extremely productive workshop. The Cranach factory was active in prints as well as paintings. His many portraits of Martin Luther—the Cranach and Luther families were close friends—and his altarpieces with decidedly Reformist programs made Cranach and his memorable style the epitome of Protestant visual culture. Nevertheless, Cranach was also active for Luther’s adversaries, such as Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg.
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