The World Before the Flood is an oil-on-canvas painting by English artist William Etty, first exhibited in 1828. It depicts a scene from John Milton's Paradise Lost in which Adam sees a vision of the world immediately before the Great Flood. The painting illustrates the stages of courtship as described by Milton: a group of men select wives from a group of dancing women, take their chosen woman from the group, and settle down to married life. Behind them looms an oncoming storm, a symbol of the destruction which the dancers and lovers are about to bring upon themselves. When first exhibited at the 1828 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, the painting attracted large crowds. Many critics praised it, but others condemned it as crude, tasteless and poorly executed. The painting, currently in the Southampton City Art Gallery, and a preliminary oil sketch for it, now in the York Art Gallery, were exhibited together in a major retrospective of Etty's work in 2011 and 2012.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Before_the_Flood

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1704:

War of the Spanish Succession: A combined Anglo-Dutch fleet under the command of George Rooke and allied with Archduke Charles captured Gibraltar from Spain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_Gibraltar

1830:

American surveyor James Thompson produced the first plat of Chicago for the Illinois and Michigan Canal Commissioners. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Thompson_%28surveyor%29

2020:

A large explosion of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut in Lebanon killed 218 people and caused US$15 billion in damage. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Beirut_explosion

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

old as the hills: (idiomatic, simile, chiefly hyperbolic) Extremely old. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/old_as_the_hills

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The instruments of war do have a role to play in preserving the peace. And yet this truth must coexist with another — that no matter how justified, war promises human tragedy. The soldier's courage and sacrifice is full of glory, expressing devotion to country, to cause, to comrades in arms. But war itself is never glorious, and we must never trumpet it as such. … I believe that all nations — strong and weak alike — must adhere to standards that govern the use of force. I — like any head of state — reserve the right to act unilaterally if necessary to defend my nation. Nevertheless, I am convinced that adhering to standards, international standards, strengthens those who do, and isolates and weakens those who don't.   --Barack Obama https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Barack_Obama