Pharaoh and his Host Lost in the Red Sea

Artist Benjamin West (American, 1738–1820)

Date1792

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensionscanvas: 96.8 × 76.2 cm (38 1/8 × 30 in.)
framed: 113.7 × 90.8 cm (44 3/4 × 35 3/4 in.)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Terms

Object number1960.18

DescriptionPharaoh and His Lost Host in the Red Sea is a vertically organized, partially finished history painting. West created the composition with a black line drawing and added brown tones to create modeling. Over this underdrawing, West selectively added red, yellow, blue, and white to the main figures and sky.

At the upper left, Moses is shown in a striding position, with his right foot firmly planted and his left lifted slightly off the ground. His head is shown in left profile, and his hair and long beard blow in the wind. The billowing red fabric in which Moses is draped is also swept to the left by the draft. Moses gestures dramatically. His left hand forms an arc above his head, and his right hand stretches on a diagonal toward the left edge of the canvas, creating a line that is continued by the staff in his right hand.

Behind and the to right of Moses, Aaron is depicted with his back to the viewer. His face is turned up, and his arms are raised toward heaven. Aaron's fervent action makes it appear as though he is falling toward the picture plane. West cloaked Aaron in a yellow cloth that covers his body, arms, and head.

To the right of Aaron, a winged angel points toward the right side of the painting. The angel has yellow curls and a white robe that is secured by a belt placed high on the waist. Whereas the upper left portion of the sky is filled with dark clouds, the sky behind the angel is illuminated by brilliant red and yellow light. Below the angel's outstretched arms, West placed a group of nine closely huddled figures–three men, three women, and three children. In the upper register of this cluster of figures, two young men carry a round object and a box that is inscribed with writing. The young men move toward the right edge of the composition; to their right, an old man faces three-quarters left, thereby directing the viewer's attention back to the center of the canvas. Just below them are three women, each facing left. The one who is farthest left points toward heaven; the one in the middle extends her right arm toward Moses and Aaron; and the woman at right clasps her hands in prayer in front of herself. The woman in the middle is draped in the same shade of yellow as Aaron; she holds an infant in her left arm, and a second child reaches for her waist. A third child, whose face is framed by the sole of Moses's left foot, turns in right profile toward the women.

The lower half of the canvas is filled with the pharaoh and his army, whose bodies are strewn about and whose faces show terror. The crown of the pharaoh, the most prominent figure in the lower portion, identifies his royal position. West arranged his body on a twisting diagonal from the lower left to the center of the composition. The bottom left corner depicts a wheel, presumably from the disabled chariot of the pharaoh. Just in front of the pharaoh, at the bottom center of the painting, a helmeted soldier raises his right hand in an echo of Moses's gesture and puts his left hand behind himself to brace his fall. At least five other men and three horses are also crowded into the chaotic lower half of the image. Foaming water is visible at the left and right sides, and a number of spear points below Moses suggest that many more soldiers have already been carried away by the waves.

Between the upper and lower halves of the composition, a group of liberated Israelites form a procession from left to right. These figures are on a much smaller scale than the others, suggesting that they are in the distance. The Israelites include men and women carrying their possessions on their heads and backs and leading camels on their journey.
Label TextChaos reigns in this unfinished sketch by West. Known as the “father of American painting,” West rose from obscurity as a self-taught artist in Lancaster, Pennsylvania to become a history painter to King George III of England. He created this study in preparation for "Revealed Religion," a series commissioned by the king for his private chapel at Windsor Castle. Based on the story from the biblical book of Exodus (14:26-28), the subject depicts Moses at upper left, extending his staff against the doomed Egyptians, whose pharaoh drowns in the swirling waters below. West’s frenzied handling of the brush, along with metaphoric use of light and dark, not only demonstrates his working approach, but also illustrates the concept of the tumultuous power of God’s wrath. ProvenanceBequeathed by Benjamin West to his sons, Raphael (1766–1850) and Benjamin West (b. 1772), 1820; offered to the United States government in 1826; sold by West's sons at auction through George Robins, London, May 1829; bought by Blamise or Blamire for sixty-three pounds. Gooden and Fox, London; to P. & D. Colnaghi, Ltd., London, October 30, 1958; purchased by the Worcester Art Museum, 1960.

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