Flemish artist of 1600s reminds us that Religions are often petty, clumsy and vicious

ABC ONLINE (Australia)
By Damon Young

"The Crossing of the Red Sea" (1597-1600) by Sebastian Vrancx

AUSTRALIA - The Red Sea has parted, graciously let the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage, and then dumped its salty death upon the Egyptian pursuers. The exceptionalist god has again made his alliances clear: the Jews are his, to save and punish as he sees fit. But if we look closely at 'The Crossing of the Red Sea', Sebastian Vrancx's painting hanging in the National Gallery of Victoria, the story has been revised to suit the late-16th-century Low Countries.

The Jews are actually Catholics, as Vrancx's Flemish homeland, in the Southern Netherlands, was controlled by Spain. And floundering in the sea are not Egyptians, but the enemies of the Church: Muslims and German Protestants. Vrancx's painting is a reminder that religion is often as petty, clumsy and average as secular life - only less candid. [link]