The Crossing of the Red Sea

Perin del Vaga (Pietro Bonaccorsi)

Download hi-res image TITLE The Crossing of the Red Sea
AUTHOR Perin del Vaga (Pietro Bonaccorsi)
DATE 1522 - 3
OBJECT TYPE AND MATERIAL Oil on canvas
DIMENSIONS cm 118 x 201
INVENTORY 450
ROOM XXVII
Work on display

This monochrome picture imitating a bronze relief shows the Jews, on the left, giving thanks to God after Moses has saved them and pointing to the Egyptian army as it drowns in the Red Sea as its waters rush back to their bed.
Attributed to Perin del Vaga after its restoration, the picture emulates, even in its size, a painting now in the Uffizi which Vasari claims was painted in a day and a night in return for the chaplain of San Lorenzo’s hospitality in 1522–3.