The Tenth Plague of Egypt by J.M.W. Turner

This painting illustrates a passage from the Bible. It describes one of the plagues inflicted on the Egyptians by God as punishment for enslaving the Jewish people: the killing of all the first-born sons of the Egyptians. The dark clouds in the sky emphasise the power of forces beyond human’s control. Turner exhibited the picture just a couple of months after becoming a full member of the Royal Academy. Depictions of stories from the Bible and ancient Greek and Roman myth was seen by the Academy as the most important form of art. This was known as the ‘Grand Style’