Light and Colour (Goethe’s Theory) - the Morning after the Deluge - Moses Writing the Book of Genesis
- Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner
- Date: exhibited 1843
- Medium: Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions: support: 787 x 787 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
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About this artwork
This is the *Light and Colour (Goethe’s Theory) – the Morning after the Deluge – Moses Writing the Book of Genesis* by Joseph Mallord William Turner, painted in 1843. The canvas explodes with a warm, almost electric glow that Turner uses to show the return of the sun after the biblical deluge. It is the companion to *Shade and Darkness – The Evening of the Deluge*, creating a dramatic before‑and‑after narrative.
Turner was fascinated by Goethe’s colour theory, and you can see that influence in the way he splits the warm reds, yellows and greens from the cooler blues and purples. The bright palette feels hopeful yet fleeting; the verses attached to the painting suggest that the light is transient, a reminder that even divine promise can be temporary.
In the centre, a serpent rises—a nod to the brazen serpent Moses raised to cure the Israelites’ plague. Turner reinterprets that image as a symbol of Christ’s redemption, linking Old Testament covenant to the New. The work invites you to pause and feel the moment when light first touches a world that had been washed clean.
Notice how Turner layers the light—each hue shimmering, almost like prismatic bubbles—reminding us that hope is bright but brief.
See it in person
Light and Colour (Goethe’s Theory) - the Morning after the Deluge - Moses Writing the Book of Genesis is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
