Scene from a Deluge
Scene from a Deluge (Scène du déluge) is an oil on canvas painting by Anne-Louis Girodet, which was first exhibited at the Salon of 1806 and is now in the collection of the Louvre, in Paris.
| Scene from a Deluge | |
|---|---|
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| Artist | Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson |
| Year | c. 1806 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 441 cm × 341 cm (174 in × 134 in) |
| Location | Louvre, Paris |
Description
The large-format canvas (4.41 x 3.41 meters) represents five members of the same family; they struggle to escape the raging elements of nature. The man perched on a rock hangs from a tree that is beginning to break; he tries to pull up his wife and two children, all while supporting on his back an old man who carries a purse in his hand. The sky is streaked with lightning; a cadaver floats in the agitated water.
The painting received first prize at the concours décennal of 1810, under the category of heroic history painting, beating Jacques-Louis David's Sabine Women; it was again exhibited at the Salon of 1814.[1] It was purchased by the French state in 1818 for the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris. Upon Girodet's death in 1824, it was transferred to the Louvre, along with two other works by the artist: The Sleep of Endymion and the Burial of Atala.
A preparatory drawing in black chalk, dated ca. 1795, is held by the National Gallery of Canada.[2]
The painting was reproduced as a lithograph in 1825 by Jean Baptiste Aubry-Lecomte.[3]
References
- François Séraphin Delpech (1814). Examen raisonné des ouvrages de peinture, sculpture et gravure exposés au Salon du Louvre en 1814. Paris: Martinet. p. 41-49..
- Sonia Del Re (August 2018). "Expressive et raffinée : étude pour "Une scène de déluge" d'Anne-Louis Girodet"..
- Olivier Morand (2011). "Girodet lithographe". Nouvelles de l'Estampe (233–234)..
Bibliography
- Dale G. Cleaver (1978). "Girodet's Déluge, a Case Study in Art Criticism". Art Journal. 38 (2): 96-101. doi:10.1080/00043249.1979.10793479..
- Chiara Savettieri (2017). "Tutto è disperazione in questo dipinto" : interpretazione del Déluge di Anne-Louis Girodet. Philosophica (in Italian). Pise: Edizioni ETS. p. 166. ISBN 978-88-467-4928-4..