Noah Building the Ark

George Frederick Watts

Wood engraving by the Dalziels [1863–5]; printed from the original block.

9 x 7 inches

Dalziels’ Bible Gallery, plate 2.

Genesis, vi: 27. A powerful representation of Noah absorbed in his task. The neo-classical treatment of the patriarch’s torso, arms and face are strongly reminiscent of Michelangelo’s dynamic figure of Moses on Julius II’s tomb, San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome (1513–15). The wicked and stupid, personified as grotesques, try to distract him.

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Scanned image and text by Simon Cooke.

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