The Israelites fleeing Egypt with Moses at right extending his right hand and with a woman carrying an urn prostrate before him 1576

Cherubino Alberti created this engraving, "The Israelites fleeing Egypt," which captures a moment of profound historical and cultural significance. The story of the Exodus, central to Jewish identity, is here rendered through a European, Renaissance lens. What I find compelling is how Alberti navigates the representation of collective identity and personal experience. The figures, classical in their depiction, are caught in a moment of transition, their bodies conveying both hope and exhaustion. The woman prostrate before Moses—is she a symbol of reverence, or a figure of desperation? Consider too, the burdens these people carry. How might we read their flight not just as a religious event, but also as a narrative of migration, resilience, and the search for freedom? In reflecting on this work, consider how historical narratives are visualized, and whose stories get told in the process. Think about the emotional weight carried by the figures depicted, and how their journey resonates with contemporary experiences of displacement and the quest for liberation.