SIR PETER BLAKE, R.A. (b. 1932)

In the 1983 Tate Gallery exhibition catalogue, in which The Deluge is the third work listed, the subject is described as 'from the Old Testament, imagined as a contemporary girl' (exhibition catalogue, Peter Blake, London, Tate Gallery, 1983, p. 74). Where Blake’s more mature output is associated with the celebration of pop culture, and venerates the icons or idols it creates, The Deluge abandons quasi-religious in favour of overtly religious overtones, referencing the flood myths of Christianity and many other religions where civilisation is destroyed by a vengeful god. Rather than cataclysmic, the landscape of Blake’s composition is strangely peaceful, but the expression visible on the girl’s face, looking straight at us, suggests the worst is far from over. The dark humour apparent here is accentuated by the deliberately archaic choice of title, which recalls the nihilist maxim, ‘aprés moi, le déluge’.