Ludovico Mazzolino, Italian, c.1480-c.1530
Title: The Crossing of the Red Sea
Date: 1521
Medium: Oil on wood panel
Dimensions:
125 x 157 cm
Credit Line: Purchased, 1914
Object Number: NGI.666
DescriptionFollowing an apprenticeship with Lorenzo Costa in Bologna, Ludovico Mazzolino went to Ferrara to work for Duke Alfonso I d’Este and his wife, Lucrezia Borgia. The artistic climate of the court must have been particularly congenial for him – he initially produced small works but soon gained the confidence to execute more demanding compositions. In some of these, such as in this panel, Mazzolino proved his ability to assimilate different styles, both locally (Dosso,Garofalo) and from beyond the Alps (Dürer, Cranach).
In this extraordinary rendition of the biblical crossing of the Red Sea, as the waters close on the Egyptian army pursuing the Israelites, Mazzolino abandons normal rules of perspective. He has managed to fit in more than 150 small figures, using vivid and contrasting colours. With his hair blowing in the wind, God emerges from a cloud. Below, the Egyptian soldiers are drowning while their commander seems to leap from his chariot in a desperate attempt to save himself. On the right, in stark contrast, Moses stands on the shore calmly pointing his stick, surrounded by the grateful figures of the Israelites.
In this extraordinary rendition of the biblical crossing of the Red Sea, as the waters close on the Egyptian army pursuing the Israelites, Mazzolino abandons normal rules of perspective. He has managed to fit in more than 150 small figures, using vivid and contrasting colours. With his hair blowing in the wind, God emerges from a cloud. Below, the Egyptian soldiers are drowning while their commander seems to leap from his chariot in a desperate attempt to save himself. On the right, in stark contrast, Moses stands on the shore calmly pointing his stick, surrounded by the grateful figures of the Israelites.
ProvenanceAldobrandini family, Villa Aldobrandini, Rome, by 1603; purchased by Robert Sloane (d.1802); Coxe’s, London, 2 June 1804, lot 60 (unsold at £577 10s); Christie’s, 1 May 1821, lot 8, purchased by Michael Peacock for £52 10s; Edward Solly (1776-1844); Solly sale, Christie’s, 8 May 1847, lot 30 (unsold at 230 guineas); Sir William Domville (1849-1904) by 1897; purchased Christie’s, London, 1914 for £35 15s.
Exhibition HistoryCentenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, October - December 1964