St. Elizabeth Flood

The St. Elizabeth Flood by the Master of the St. Elizabeth Panels depicts the catastrophic storm surge that struck the coast of Holland on Saint Elizabeth's feast day in November 1421, destroying dozens of villages and killing thousands of people in what became known as the Saint Elizabeth's Flood. This painting is among the very earliest examples in European art of a contemporary disaster depicted as a historical event rather than as allegory or biblical narrative, making it a remarkable precursor of later history painting. The work's association with the Goudstikker collection connects it to a tragic chapter of twentieth-century cultural heritage.

The flood scene is viewed from above, showing inundated villages, drowning figures, and the chaotic sea overtaking the flat Dutch landscape. The master renders water, sky, and the geometric patterns of flooded fields with early landscape painting's systematic descriptiveness. The scene's elevated viewpoint is unusual and documentary in character.