Building of the Ark

This work is one of five paintings in the Noah’s Ark series commissioned by Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, shortly after his accession. Thus the Province of Salzburg coat of arms and that of Wolf Dietrich are combined here into an alliance coat of arms with a divided shield under a "galero" with ten tassels on either side. All five paintings are animated, detailed and naturalistic. For guidance, Memberger used "The Flood" by Jacopo Bassano, a representative of Late Renaissance Venetian painting, taking up narrative elements but with clear variation in the figures and their dress. In keeping with his employer, Memberger shows Noah and his family in courtly garb and self-assured in their demeanour.

Ducke Astrid: Kaspar Memberger the Elder, Noah's Ark series for Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau: Building of the Ark, in: Ducke Astrid, Habersatter Thomas (Hrsg./Edi.): von | from 0 auf | to 100. Residenzgalerie Salzburg 1923-2023. Salzburg 2023, S./p. 320-321