The Saint Elizabeth’s Day Flood

Master of the Saint Elizabeth Panels (active c. 1490-1495), Northern Netherlands (Dordrecht?), c. 1490–1495, oil on panel

On the night of 19 November 1421 – the feast day of Saint Elizabeth – much of Holland was flooded. The Dordrecht region was badly hit: 23 villages were submerged and 2,000 people died. The survivors later had an altarpiece made. The outer panels depict the disaster, with the breach of the dike on the right and the undamaged town of Dordrecht on the left.

Artwork typepainting
Object numberSK-A-3147-A
Dimensionsheight 127.3 cm x width 109.5 cm x height 125.4 cm x width 108.6 cm
Physical characteristicsolieverf op paneel

Identification

Title(s)
The Saint Elizabeth’s Day Flood
Former title
De Sint Elisabethsvloed, 18-19 november 1421 met de stad Dordrecht op de achtergrond
Object type
Object number
SK-A-3147-A
Inscriptions / marks
inscription, throughout the painting: ‘gorcum// wo[a?]ricum (Workum) // almskerc (Almkerk) // [illegible] // cappel (Capelle) // waspic (Waspik) // [onleesbaar] // raemsdo. (Raamsdonk) // gheertrud de[n] berch (Geertruidenberg) // herdicvelt (Hardinxveld) // giesse[n]?da[m] // wercke[n] da[m] (Werkendam) // slierecht (Sliedrecht) // craeistein (Crayesteyn) // houwenig[en?] (Houweningen) // herdzwerd (Harradeswerde) // heisterbac (heysterbach) // pape[n]drecht // merwen (Huis te Merwede) // huesde[n] (Heusden)’
Description
On the night of 19 November 1421 – the feast day of Saint Elizabeth – much of Holland was flooded. The Dordrecht region was badly hit: 23 villages were submerged and 2,000 people died. The survivors later had an altarpiece made. The outer panels depict the disaster, with the breach of the dike on the right and the undamaged town of Dordrecht on the left.
Part of catalogue
Catalogue reference
Documentatiemap: aantekeningen R. van Luttervelt (voor 1963).

Creation

Creation
painter: Meester van de Heilige Elisabeth-Panelen, Northern Netherlands
Dating
c. 1490 - c. 1495
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Material and technique

Physcial description
olieverf op paneel
Material
Dimensions
height 127.3 cm x width 109.5 cm x height 125.4 cm x width 108.6 cm

This work is about

Subject
Place

Acquisition and rights

Credit line
Purchased with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt
Acquisition
purchase 1933-12
Ownership
Copyright
Public domain
Provenance
See the provenance for SK-A-3145.
Remarks
Please note that this provenance was formulated with a special focus on provenance research for the years 1933-45 and could therefore be incomplete. There may be more (mostly earlier) provenance information known in the museum. In case this item has an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933-45, the Rijksmuseum welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era.

Documentation

- Documentatiemap: aantekeningen R. van Luttervelt (voor 1963).
- 'Strijd tegen het water', 20 Eeuwen Nederland en de Nederlanders (1998), afl. 1, p. 12.
- Liesbeth M. Helmus, 'De Elisabethsvloed en het altaar van de Wieldrechtenaren in de Grote Kerk van Dordrecht', Kwartaal & Teken (1992) nr. 18 (verkorte en aangepaste versie van 1991-nr. 2).
- P. Cleveringa e.a, "’So grot overvlot der watere’. Een bijdrage in het moderne multidisciplinaire onderzoek naar de St. Elisabethsvloed en de periode die daaraan vooraf ging”, Holland 36 (2004) nr. 3, p. 162-180.
- Inzoomer object op zaal, 2013 (Nederlands/English).
- Jean Baptist Bedaux, 'De watersnood van 1421', Vitrine: museummagazine 3/95, p. 13.

Related objects

Persistent URL

To refer to this object, please use the following persistent URL:
https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200109490