The Taskmaster of the Pharaoh Beating the Israelites
Medium
engraving on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 20.3 × 28.7 cm (8 × 11 5/16 in.) sheet: 20.9 × 29.4 cm (8 1/4 × 11 9/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Charles Hack
Accession Number
2012.91.3
Art Historical Context
In the late 16th century, engravers Jan Sadeler and Maarten van Cleef on *The Taskmaster of the Beating the Israelites*c. 1585), a striking engraving on laid paper measuring about 8 by 11 inches. This scene from the Book of Exodus captures the brutal oppression of the Hebrew slaves under Pharaoh's overseer, with dynamic figures twisting in anguish amid ancient Egyptian architecture. Sadeler, a master of the Sadeler family's renowned engraving dynasty in Antwerp, and van Cle, a skilled contemporary, produced works that bridged religious narrative and technical virtuosity during the Northern Ren...