The National Gallery of Ireland has initiated a significant restoration project for “Crossing of the Red Sea,” a rare painting by the Italian Renaissance master Ludovico Mazzolino. The gallery aims to exhibit the piece for the first time in 2025, following a €25,000 grant from the European Fine Arts Fund (Tefaf).
Mazzolino, primarily recognized for his small, intricately detailed religious works commissioned by aristocratic patrons, occasionally created larger pieces later in his career. These larger works, however, have posed considerable challenges for restoration over the centuries. Currently, only three of Mazzolino’s larger paintings are housed in public collections, located in Rome, Berlin, and Dublin. Of these, only “Christ and the Doctors,” displayed at Rome’s Museo Doria Pamphilj, is stable enough for public viewing.
The National Gallery has owned “Crossing of the Red Sea” since 1914 but has never displayed it due to its condition. “It’s a fairly famous painting, and we’re often asked to loan it for exhibitions, but in its current state, that’s simply not possible. It can’t be moved,” noted Aoife Brady, the gallery’s curator of Italian and Spanish art. The recent grant has allowed Brady and lead conservator Maria Canavan to assess the other existing works, revealing that the Berlin painting shares a similar precarious condition.
Mazzolino’s depiction of the biblical event, where the Red Sea parts for the Israelites and subsequently returns to engulf the Egyptian army, is notable for its intricate detail and dynamic perspective shifts. The composition features over 130 identified figures, with many more obscured beneath the surface, revealed through x-ray and infrared imaging techniques. The painting vividly captures the moment of divine intervention, with the Israelites giving thanks on the shore, God observing from the clouds, and an angel on Pegasus amidst the tumultuous waters filled with people and horses.
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