Although Anisfeld had a Jewish mother, his approach to religion was truly universal. In his art he synthesised narratives taken from different faiths, combining elements from Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Pantheism. The decorative possibilities of the Hebrew Scriptures, however, especially appealed to his colourful and mystical aesthetic. In 1924 Christian Brinton, the organiser of the artist’s first American retrospective, commented: ‘Anisfeld’s boyhood drawings were mainly after Biblical themes and scenes, and there persists to this day in his art much of the mystic fervour of a book which, though appropriated by the Western world, remains Oriental in its sonorous, colourful imagery' (Introduction to The Boris Anisfeld Exhibition, Reindhardt Gallery, New York, 1924).

In Exodus from Egypt Anisfeld turns to the founding myth of Israel, depicting the departure of the Israelites from Ancient Egypt following their delivery from servitude. The narration of the story is unorthodox, as the focus of the painting is on the pursuers, the Egyptian army, the Pharaoh in his chariot and the exotic animals, rather than on the Israelites, the protagonists of the story. The present lot is closely comparable to The Exodus (66 by 108cm), executed shortly before Anisfeld’s emigration to New York in 1917 and exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum the following year.