A forgotten history painting from the time of Ludwig I. is now under restoration and conservation treatment. With a format of 5.92 by 8.27 metres, Carl Schorn’s Flood is the biggest painting in the Neue Pinakothek. It was painted between 1845 and 1850 to a commission from King Ludwig I of
The painting depicts the final moments of a sinful humanity doomed to destruction. The last of the living have climbed to refuge on top of a mountain. Their fury and desperation in the face of death take a variety of repellent forms. The only sign of hope – the ark housing Noah and the animals – appears as a small silhouette on the horizon at the left edge. It plays little part in this grim, pessimistic vision of the end of the world.
