The Submersion of the Pharaoh’s Army in the Red Sea

Designer: Titian (Tiziano Vecelli)

1514–15 (printed 1549 or later)

Woodcut from twelve blocks on twelve sheets, mounted on linen

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A large woodcut depicting a chaotic scene of soldiers and horses struggling in turbulent waters, with a distant cityscape and a rocky shoreline. Figures on the right appear to be observing the event. A large woodcut depicting a chaotic scene of soldiers and horses struggling in turbulent waters, with a distant cityscape and a rocky shoreline. Figures on the right appear to be observing the event. Titian was not only Venice's most famous Renaissance painter, but also an extraordinary graphic artist who played a key role in the development of the Venetian woodcut. He designed several monumental, multi-block prints, of which the Submersion of Pharaoh's Army in the Red Sea is the largest. Because oversized prints were more commonly displayed on walls rather than preseved in albums, very few have survived. The subject of Titian's com