The Art of the Sublime

ISBN 978-1-84976-387-5

Francis Danby The Deluge exhibited 1840

Francis Danby 'The Deluge' exhibited 1840
Francis Danby 1793–1861
The Deluge exhibited 1840
Oil paint on canvas
support: 2845 x 4521 mm; frame: 3037 x 4740 x 110 mm;
Tate T01337
Presented by the Friends of the Tate Gallery 1971
Danby made his name with epic subjects, often on a large scale. This was his last. The subject is from the Old Testament book of Genesis. God sends a flood to punish mankind’s wickedness but allows Noah and his family to be saved. Noah’s ark is in the background, illuminated by a shaft of moonlight. A stormy sea rages round a rocky peak and massive tree branches, to which humans and animals are clinging desperately. A blood-red sun can be seen setting to the left. In the lower right-hand corner, an angel weeps over the death of a child.

How to cite

Francis Danby, The Deluge exhibited 1840, in Nigel Llewellyn and Christine Riding (eds.), The Art of the Sublime, Tate Research Publication, January 2013, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/the-sublime/francis-danby-the-deluge-r1105565, accessed 29 March 2024.