Arnold Friberg was asked by movie director Cecil B. DeMille to work as the production artist on the film, The Ten Commandments, after he saw some of Friberg’s Book of Mormon paintings.

But one interesting part of Fribeg’s job while working on the movie was to help the writers understand what DeMille wanted by giving artistic forms of the scenes conceived by DeMille. The movie director had conceived the entire film in his head before before a script was written. Friberg would sketch scenes and the writers would use them for the basis for dialogue and action.

There were so many scenes for Friberg to picture that the artist often quickly sketched in pencil or watercolor. But some Friberg more elaborately planned and painted in oils. The crossing of the Red Sea, for example, was first produced as a massive oil painting, then the filming was planned around the effects Friberg created.

Friberg’s painting of the Hebrews crossing the Red Sea reveals a diverse group of people, each with an individual story. When the artist conceived of the people to be depicted in the Exodus scene, Friberg drew upon the memories of his army days. During his tour of duty in Europe, the artist witnessed the endless throngs of displaced people clogging the roads of Germany. They carried all of their belongings and, much like the Israelites, they did not know where they were going or what the future would hold.