Noah’s Ark series for Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau: The Flood

The Province of Salzburg coat of arms (top left) and that of Wolf Dietrich (top right) show that it was Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, Prince Archbishop of Salzburg (r 1587–1612) who commissioned the five paintings of the Memberger series. In "Building of the Ark" and "Entering the Ark", the two coats of arms are joined to form alliance arms with a divided shield under an archbishop's hat (galero) with ten tassels (fiocchi) on either side. Memberger received the commission for the Noah's Ark series shortly after the Archbishop's accession. His rendering of the five scenes is vivid, detailed and true to nature. They are all signed and dated 1588. Memberger draws on depictions of the Flood by Jacopo Bassano, a master of Late Renaissance Venetian painting, taking up narrative elements, though with distinct variation in the dress of the figures. In keeping with the archiepiscopal commission, Memberger shows Noah and his family in courtly dress, perfectly self-assured in their roles.

Translated catalogue text from:
Ducke Astrid: Zurückgeholt. Residenzgalerie Salzburg, Salzburg 2017, S. 41
Translation: Gail Schamberger MA, Salzburg