Moses stoops with his rod to close the waters of the Red Sea over the pursuing Egyptian army, watched by a crowd of astonished Israelites. By reinforcing the forms with dark contours, Castiglione probably intended the composition to read almost as a relief, in the manner of ancient sarcophagi. But the modelling is barely functional, and the poses and expressions are stilted and repetitive – Castiglione was trying too hard to be someone else. Cat. 13