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.
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