1808
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
The Fifth Plague of Egypt is a 1808 ink by Joseph Mallord William Turner, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This print shows a dark, stormy scene by the Nile River. In the foreground, a group of people and animals lie dead on the ground, while a lone figure kneels beside them. Palm trees are bent and tangled, and the sky is thick with dramatic clouds. Far off, pyramids loom under the storm, and ships sit in the harbor. The title hints this is about a biblical plague—likely the one that killed livestock. The artist used shading to make the chaos feel heavy and dramatic. Next, look up etching to see how artists like Turner used acid and metal plates to create these moody prints.
Joseph Mallord William Turner was born in 1775 at Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, where his father kept a barber and wig-making shop.
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