Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh

Object Type
The design for a wood engraving was first drawn on the block of boxwood by the artist. The block would then be passed to a wood engraver to engrave. Several blocks would have been screwed together to create a large block such as this one.

People
The painter and designer Sir Edward John Poynter (1836-1919) produced most of his periodical and book illustration work in the early part of his career. He later became Slade Professor at University College (1871-1875), Director of Art at South Kensington (1875-1881), President of the Royal Academy (1896-1918) and Director of the National Gallery (1894-1906), all in London. In 1896 he looked back at his early career as 'delightful times', writing to the wood engraving firm of the Dalziel Brothers (active 1839-1905), 'There is no part of my life or of the practice of my art which I look back with greater pleasure'. He contributed a total of 10 designs (7 used), including this one, for the Bible Gallery. His letters to the Dalziel Brothers reveal a clear technical understanding of wood engraving and a great appreciation of the skill of the Dalziels' work.

Materials
The survival of this drawing on a wood block reflects a key technical development in wood engraving: the use of photography to transfer drawings onto the wood blocks. The Dalziels describe how they spent much time experimenting with this technique and were finally successful in the early part of their work on the Bible Gallery. 'By this means nearly all the exquisite drawings in black and white made by Leighton (Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton of Stretton [1830-1896]), Poynter, Houghton (Arthur Boyd Houghton [1836-1875]), and many others of the artists who worked in association with us, have been preserved, and now adorn some of the public permanent galleries'.