In particular, Girodet’s use of melodrama and the supernatural in pieces such as Nebuchadnezzar Orders the Execution of the Sons of Zedekiah, The Assassination of Tatius, and King of the Sabines differed greatly from the traditional, non-imaginative style of David and other neoclassical artists of this time.

[7] Attributing the confusion to the mistaken title, Girodet emphasized that he merely wished to illustrate ‘a sudden and partial inundation produced by a convulsion of nature’.

In September 1806, Girodet wrote about his painting for the Journal de Paris: "How many people, set upon the reefs of the world and in the midst of social tempests, entrust, like this family, their health and fortune to rotten supports."

One observer wrote in the Gazette de France, “Today, at the opening of the Salon, all eyes were drawn to a scene of the Flood [sic] by Girodet.

This fine composition was widely admired.” Another, for the Journal de l'Empire, wrote “We were waiting with something like impatience for Mr. Girodet to produce a work that would leave the harshest connoisseurs in no doubt as to the assurance and supremacy of his talent.”[11] But critics did not entirely approve of its unorthodox subject matter and visual qualities.

He believed that it threatened the idealism of art and, if it was not checked, it would lead to a distasteful genre of history painting less focused on the subject matter and more on melodrama and perversity.

Girodet's defenders claimed that the painting had a philosophical lesson: an allegory depicting man protecting age, womanhood, and youth.

But the mother's upper arm is too limp compared to her sturdy legs and the cadaver floating in the water was too pretty, and the dimensions and balance were lacking, possibly due to the largeness of the painting.

According to the National Gallery of Canada, the initial sketch differs from the final piece in a few key ways: “Still horizontal rather than vertical, this early version does not comprise the tree nor the older child clinging to his mother’s neck in the painting.

"[15] The presence of lightning in both the initial sketch and completed work highlights Girodet’s commitment to alternative forms of illumination.