The Deluge (L'Inondation)
1893
Medium
color lithograph on wove paper
Dimensions
image: 20.6 x 28.9 cm (8 1/8 x 11 3/8 in.) sheet: 41.2 x 58 cm (16 1/4 x 22 13/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of the Virginia and Ira Jackson Collection
Accession Number
2004.162.27
Art Historical Context
Charles Guilloux’s “The Deluge (L’Inondation)” of 1893 captures a dramatic flood scene through the luminous effects of color lithography. Created on wove paper, the print’s modest image size belies the expansive mood it evokes, demonstrating how late-nineteenth-century artists harnessed this reproductive medium to convey atmospheric depth and emotional resonance. Lithography allowed Guilloux to layer translucent colors and achieve subtle tonal gradations impossible in earlier print techniques. By 1893 the process had matured into a respected artistic form, enabling wider audiences to experien...