(North Sea flood of December 1717)

Johann Rudolf Melchior Fussli

The titling of this piece includes a description of the scene, an historic depiction of a storm surge over the North Sea that led to the flooding of the entire coastline between the Netherlands and Denmark. "The Christmas Flood" began on the night of December 25th, 1717, leading to widespread devastation that was further impacted by an ice storm the following February.

Engraved below the image reads the paragraph: "Representation of the tidal wave sent by the hand of God over many countries on December 25 and 26, 1717, in which many people and cattle perished miserably and many homes and property were destroyed." The storm's aftermath included 14,000 dead and entire villages wiped out.

This woodengraving has been cleaned and was repaired in the bottom margin where there existed small tears and holes. The price reflects the condition. Contact the gallery for a detailed condition report.