The Water Turned Into Blood–The Boils and Blanes, from "Dalziels' Bible Gallery"

This dramatic wood engraving plunges us into the biblical narrative of the Plagues of Egypt, specifically the water turning to blood and the affliction of boils. The scene is dense with figures, their bodies contorted in agony and despair. Look at the powerful contrast between the dark, swirling water and the stark, pale flesh of the suffering people. The artist, Thomas Dalziel, uses the medium of wood engraving to its full potential, creating deep shadows and intricate details through precise lines and cuts. This work was part of a larger project, "Dalziels' Bible Gallery," which aimed to illustrate biblical stories with a new intensity and realism for the Victorian public. The small scale of the print belies the monumental feeling of divine wrath and human suffering it conveys, inviting a close inspection of its finely wrought details.