The Great Flood

1765

Charles Eisen

Associated Names
Charles Eisen

Artist, French, 1720 - 1778

This is a drawing of a chaotic deluge scene. The scene depicts a flood where figures appear to be struggling amidst a torrential downpour. A tumultuous sea or river overwhelms the landscape, with many bodies seemingly battling the elements, climbing and clinging to rocks, and some attempting to reach higher ground. The craggy outcrops and the swirling waters add to the drama and desperation of the scene. The sky above is filled with thick, dark clouds. The drawing is framed in an ornate border.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    graphite on vellum

  • Credit Line

    Widener Collection

  • Dimensions

    image: 13.4 x 8.9 cm (5 1/4 x 3 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1942.9.855

  • Series Title

    Album of Drawings & Prints for"Les Metamorphoses d'Ovide"

Associated Artworks

See all 36 artworks

Title Page

Pierre-Philippe Choffard

1767

Album of Preliminary Drawings and Prints for "Les Metamorphoses d'Ovide" (volume 1)

Various Artists

1767

Dedication Page

Pierre-Philippe Choffard

1767

Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

2009

  • Renaissance to Revolution: French Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, 1500-1800. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2009, 214-216, 288-289, no. 93a (color).

Bibliography

1877

  • Portalis, Baron Roger de. Les dessinateurs d'illustrations au 18e siècle. 2 parts in 4 vols. Paris, 1877, 1 (pt.1): 33, 40; 1 (pt. 2); 199-200, 211, 286, 293, 358; 2 (pt. 1): 399-400, 402-403, 411, 426-427, 459; 2 (pt. 2): 687 (the set of Metamorphoses drawings).

1912

  • Cohen, Henri. Guide de l'amateur de livres à gravures de XVIIIe siècle. 6th ed., rev. and augmented by Seymour de Ricci. Paris, 1912: col. 772 (the set of Metamorphoses drawings).

1923

  • Ricci, Seymour de. A Checklist of the More Important French Illustrated Books of the Eighteenth Century. Philadelphia, 1923: [21] (the set of Metamorphoses drawings).

Inscriptions

signed and dated in graphite below the image at lower left: C.h .. Eisen. inv. et fecit 1765

Wikidata ID

Q64538494

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