The Flood

De Zwart employs a vigorous impasto technique, applying thick, textured brushstrokes that convey movement and turbulence in the stormy sky. The contrast between the heavily layered upper section and the smoother, luminous lower landscape heightens the visual tension, reflecting the artist’s ties to both the Hague School’s realism and the looser handling associated with Amsterdam Impressionism.

Created during the First World War, *The Flood* entered the Rijksmuseum’s collection, where it remains part of the permanent holdings. The work reflects de Zwart’s later period, when his focus shifted toward larger, more expressive subjects within a religious or allegorical framework.

Although rooted in a religious genre, the painting aligns with early 20th‑century Dutch artistic currents that blended naturalistic observation with emotive brushwork. De Zwart’s background as an engraver and watercolorist informs the detailed rendering of figures, while his association with Amsterdam Impressionism informs the atmospheric treatment of light and color.