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Fire at Sea

Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts | CC0 1.0

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Date

1820-1846

Artist

Clarkson Stanfield (1793-1867)

Collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Image Link

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/676968

Description

Stanfield went to sea at eleven to escape apprenticeship to a drunken coach painter, was pressed into the Royal Navy in 1812, then took up scene painting at the Royalty Theatre, London after being discharged for injury in 1816. Known for stunning romantic effects, often created in partnership with David Roberts, the artist introduced moving dioramas into Christmas pantomimes and Easter spectacles, titled "Adventures of a Ship of War" (1825), "Napoleon’s Passage of the Simplon" (1830) and "Niagara" (1832). While touring painted panoramas around major British and European cities, Stanfield contributed to the exhibitions of the British Institution and Royal Academy, and was elected Associate at the latter in 1835 through the support of the "Sailor King" William IV. In 1844, he became first curator of the Naval Gallery at Greenwich. "Fire at Sea" combines visual drama with a knowledge of ships and the sea and once belonged to a family friend, the abolitionist Thomas Clarkson. Medium: watercolor and gouache on beige paper.

Image Licence

CC0 1.0

Image Credit

Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts

Location

England

Country

Tags

Boats
Disasters
Naval
People
Ships
Travel

Category

Travel & Transport

Glossary
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© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform

© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform