Noah Supervising Construction of the Ark
Medium
Red chalk on tan laid paper, laid down on cream laid paper
Dimensions
20.3 × 23.3 cm (8 × 9 3/16 in.)
Classification
chalk
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
81301
Art Historical Context
This red chalk drawing by Sir Nicolas Dorigny captures a pivotal moment from the Book of Genesis: Noah overseeing the construction of the Ark that will preserve life during the Great Flood. Dor, a French artist active in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, spent much of his career in Rome and later England, where he became renowned for his reproductive engravings after major Italian masters. Though undated, the work reflects the Baroque interest in dramatic biblical narratives rendered with clarity and emotional resonance. Executed in red chalk on tan laid paper, the drawing ...