File:Storm and Sunshine- A Battle with the Elements RMG BHC1348.tiff
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Captions
Summary edit
William Lionel Wyllie: Storm and Sunshine: A Battle with the Elements | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Object type |
painting object_type QS:P31,Q3305213 |
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Description |
English: Storm and Sunshine: A Battle with the Elements A painting showing the hulk of the wooden frigate 'Leonidas' anchored near Upnor on the Medway in Kent. The coastline is visible in the distance on the left. The 'Leonidas', 36 guns, was launched in 1807 and by 1872 had ceased active service to become a powder hulk storing gun cotton. By the 1880s, with the coming of steel and steam power, many of the old 'wooden walls' were being used in naval anchorages for such purposes. Those in the Medway, off Chatham and Sheerness Dockyards, were a familiar sight to Wyllie whose home was nearby. The hulk of the ship looms up with the crowned, head-and-shoulders figurehead of Leonidas on the bow. Leonidas was the Spartan king who died defending Greece in 480 BC by holding the pass at Thermopylae against a huge Persian invading army. His small Spartan force was eventually outflanked by treachery, refused to surrender and fought to the last man. The carved head of a lion on the ship also denotes Leonidas. There is a red flag fluttering on the hulk with a weather vane on top of the flagpole pointing towards the left. There are figures on the companionway gesturing towards the smaller craft heading towards the hulk to collect gun cotton. These are Thames sailing barges with their masts and sails lowered, under tow as a connected string from a small steam tug in the left background. The tow lines connecting them are clearly visible. The approaching vessels have been caught in a squall denoted by the bargeman standing up left of centre and hurriedly putting on his oilskin jacket. The craft in the foreground is known as a doble, used for smelt-fishing in the Medway. The second barge from the left has the name 'Providence' painted on the stern. This vessel appears in several sketches by Wyllie and the inclusion of the word 'providence' suggests that these boatmen are dependent on fate. A ray of sunshine briefly illuminates the ship's side and floods it with light, while the rest of the hull and surrounding water is darkened by the lashing rain. The artist has used the squall to show man's endeavour in the face of the elements, and has concentrated on the effects of light on the side of the hulk and on the water. The atmospheric treatment of the subject owes a debt to the work of J. M. W. Turner (1775-1851). The theme of the transition from sail to steam, the effects of weather on the hull and the general style also acknowledge the earlier artist's subject matter. Wyllie has fused a synthesis of artistic concerns with a social commentary on men working in boats on the river, and the effects of technical progress. The atmospheric treatment of the subject owes a debt to the work of J. M. W. Turner (1775-1851). The theme of the transition from sail to steam, the effects of weather on the hull and the general style also acknowledge the earlier artist's subject matter. Wyllie has fused a synthesis of artistic concerns with a social commentary on men working in boats on the river, and the effects of technical progress. This painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1885 and the artist also produced a large oil sketch of it (BHC2283). It is signed and dated, lower right,' W.L. Wyllie 1885'. |
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Date |
1885 date QS:P571,+1885-00-00T00:00:00Z/9 |
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Medium | oil on canvas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dimensions | Painting: 1045 x 1640 mm; Frame: 1415 mm x 2023 mm x 150 mm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Collection |
institution QS:P195,Q7374509 |
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Current location | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accession number |
BHC1348 |
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Notes | Signed and dated lower right : W.L. Wyllie 1885 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source/Photographer | http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/12839 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Permission (Reusing this file) |
The original artefact or artwork has been assessed as public domain by age, and faithful reproductions of the two dimensional work are also public domain. No permission is required for reuse for any purpose. The text of this image record has been derived from the Royal Museums Greenwich catalogue and image metadata. Individual data and facts such as date, author and title are not copyrightable, but reuse of longer descriptive text from the catalogue may not be considered fair use. Reuse of the text must be attributed to the "National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London" and a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-SA-3.0 license may apply if not rewritten. Refer to Royal Museums Greenwich copyright. |
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Identifier InfoField | Acquisition Number: OP1958-15 id number: BHC1348 |
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Collection InfoField | Oil paintings |
Licensing edit
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This photographic reproduction is therefore also considered to be in the public domain in the United States. In other jurisdictions, re-use of this content may be restricted; see Reuse of PD-Art photographs for details. |
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current | 20:51, 18 September 2017 | 7,200 × 4,582 (94.39 MB) | Fæ (talk | contribs) | Royal Museums Greenwich Oil paintings (1885), http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/12839 #989 |
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