This dramatic novella by Theodor Storm is a variation of the theme of Romeo and Juliet. The story itself takes the form of a reconstruction, consisting of a young man reading a manuscript and wondering about the past of the life of painter whose painting is mysteriously signed C.P.A.S. Early on, the narrator correctly deducts that A.S. stands for "Aquis submersus", submerged by the flood.

The novella is a brooding story thrown back in an older time. The painting is in the style of the Dutch masters. Many of Storm's novellas suggest links with the northern Netherlands, both in culture, landscape and history.

The Nobel Prize winner Paul Heyse, a contemporary of Theodor Storm and famed for his novellas, wrote that Aquis submersus should be counted among one of his best. ( )