Sinking Of The Pharaoh In The Red Sea 1530

Editor: We’re looking at “Sinking of the Pharaoh in the Red Sea” by Lucas Cranach the Elder, painted around 1530 using oil. It's just crammed with figures! There’s a whole crowd on one side and then chaos on the other, a jumble of horses and armor. I find it surprisingly… playful, even with such a dramatic scene. What’s your take? Curator: Playful! That's an interesting observation, it tickles something in me. Perhaps the way Cranach miniaturizes the drama lends itself to a feeling that is lighthearted even during death. Cranach does love a good narrative, doesn’t he? The fleeing Israelites and the chaotic demise of Pharaoh's army--a tale as old as time visualized in the oh-so-Northern Renaissance landscape he favoured. Do you see how he places the key players in a stage-like setting? Moses there leading the exodus with, strangely, what looks like a modern haircut? Editor: Now that you point it out, the landscape does seem to have an other-worldly feeling. The mountains look almost…dreamlike. It seems he cares little for realism, doesn’t he? Curator: Exactly! Cranach isn't trying to give us a photo-realistic depiction. It is more of an illustration; to tell a story, using recognizable symbols and the conventions of his time. Remember this was a period of religious reform; art served as powerful tool of education. Do you find that affects how you engage with it, knowing its purpose? Editor: It gives me a deeper understanding. It also connects the piece to issues that are still so prominent today. I will never look at it as only illustrative again! Thanks. Curator: My pleasure. It has been a trip down memory lane, full of imaginative wonder.