The Flood c. 1570
Oil on canvas | 201.0 x 260.5 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 406106
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A night scene depicting the Flood, from the Biblical story of Noah’s Ark (Genesis, chapters 6-9). In the foreground people rescue their children, dogs and possessions from the encroaching water, making towards the Ark which is visible in the background. On the right a boy has climbed a tree and on the left Noah emerges from his house, beyond which are people on a roof.
This is an impressive painting which is boldly and in parts coarsely painted. Its condition has suffered over time and there are numerous tears in the canvas and some crude retouching, making it difficult to ascertain its quality and authorship. Several versions of the composition exist, and it is often found grouped with three other Noah subjects into a set; one such set is already recorded in 1578 in the inventory of Cardinal Ferdinando de’ Medici in Rome. It is unclear whether the sets were the primary idea, or whether they resulted from the grouping of individual Noah subjects for the market. The number of pentimenti visible in this work (such as the burden and posture of the man seen against the wall to the left) suggest that it is an early version of the composition rather than a copy after a set, and it may be partly autograph in execution.Provenance
Purchased by Charles I from the Gonzaga collection, Mantua; recorded by Abraham van der Doort in 1639 in the Gallery, St James's Palace (no 14); sold from St James's for £60 to John Embry on 21 May 1650 (no 252); recovered at the Restoration and listed in the 2nd Privy Lodging Room at Whitehall in 1666 (no 172)
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Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Oil on canvas
Measurements
201.0 x 260.5 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
186.0 cm (support (etc), excluding additions)
263.0 x 307.3 x 15.0 cm (frame, external)
236.6 cm (frame, excluding detachable parts)
51.0 x 168.8 x 12.0 cm (smallest part)
Other number(s)
Alternative title(s)
The Deluge