An atmospheric 19th-century harbour scene depicting a working sailboat before a large coastal fire.
Along the shoreline, several silhouetted landmarks guide our eye towards a distant steamboat. Its smoke seems to echo the flames that rise from the nearby burning buildings.
It’s interesting that the artist has juxtaposed a traditional sailboat with a fierce industrial fire, as perhaps this is a commentary on urban industrialisation. It reminds us a little of JMW Turner’s ‘The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons’, in which he paints two almighty fires that dominate the night’s sky.
The painting is housed within a handsome gilded frame with coved sides and a beaded inner border. Signed illegibly in the lower left.
Medium |
Oil on canvas
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Size including frame |
22½” x 18” / 57cm x 46cm
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Year of creation |
c. 1875
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Provenance |
England
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Condition
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Canvas relined. Craquelure throughout but paint layer stable under varnish. Framed with age-related wear.
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