Noah Sacrificing after the Deluge
Artist:
Benjamin West
(American, 1738 - 1820)
Date: ca. 1800
Place made:England
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
72 x 138 in. (182.9 x 350.5 cm)
Credit Line: Funds provided by the Blaffer Foundation
Object number: 80.131
Provenance: Painted between 1797 and 1801 to be part of the chapel planned by George III for Windsor Casts; never delivered, ownership resturned to West's sons by George IV in 1828; sold, Robins, London, 22025 May 1829, loft 53 (11 ft. 6 in. high x 6 ft. wide, "Painted by command of His Late Majesty, for his intended chapel in Windsor Castle,/Genesis, chap 8./verse 20. And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offering on the alter.?, bt. by H.P. Bone for 26/5 on behalf of Joseph Neeld, M.P., Grittleton House, Wilts.; by descent to Captain L. W. Neeld, Grittleton house (died c. 1962); sold by John Bourned, Christie's, London, 3 July 1964, lot 84, bt. by Dent; Central Picture Galleries, New York, 1964. Spencer Samuels and Company, New York
Label Text
Alerted by God of a flood sent to destroy evildoers, Noah built an ark in which his family—and pairs of all existing animals—rode out 40 days and nights of rain. After landing on Mount Ararat, Noah gave thanks for his cargo’s survival: “And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.” (Genesis 8:20) Instead of a finished painting, this monumental work is a preparatory sketch, witnessed by the strong contour lines of the objects that indicate their placement and the fainter suggestions of the colors that will be built up in the finished work.
Benjamin West was the first American artist to achieve success abroad. Sent to Italy by Philadelphia businessmen for study, he moved to England in 1763 and rose in the art world, ultimately becoming historical painter to King George III and the second president of the newly formed Royal Academy of Arts.
This scene was part of series of 36 projected paintings intended to hang in the Royal Chapel at England’s Windsor Castle. West worked on this series for years. He completed 18 paintings before George III’s deteriorating mental health—and royal suspicion of West’s political sympathies—killed the project.
(William Keyse Rudolph, 2014)
Benjamin West was the first American artist to achieve success abroad. Sent to Italy by Philadelphia businessmen for study, he moved to England in 1763 and rose in the art world, ultimately becoming historical painter to King George III and the second president of the newly formed Royal Academy of Arts.
This scene was part of series of 36 projected paintings intended to hang in the Royal Chapel at England’s Windsor Castle. West worked on this series for years. He completed 18 paintings before George III’s deteriorating mental health—and royal suspicion of West’s political sympathies—killed the project.
(William Keyse Rudolph, 2014)
On view
In Collection(s)
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
