The Flood 1516

Hans Baldung painted The Flood using oil on wood, around the early Sixteenth Century. In the center, there is a large, boxy structure, seemingly made of planks, with elaborate hinges, and the figures are clambering to get inside. The way he has depicted the ark suggests that this is more than just a vessel to be sailed smoothly on the water. Rather, it is a monumental feat of carpentry, of labor, and of construction. We might also consider who was tasked with making it. Baldung was working at the time of the Reformation, and this image can be seen as representing the struggle between the old and new orders, the many hands that have been raised to build this vessel of hope. The very fact that the artist chose to represent this biblical episode in such a way indicates the importance of craft, labor, and the making process as a way to convey complex social or cultural meanings.