Mid-Morning Art Thread

From The National Maritime Museum:

This large-scale painting, both ambitious and complex in conception, is the key mid-19th century image addressing emigration. Rich in interpretative material, it focuses on the reactions of those left behind on shore. The scene is set along the Thames although the artist has deliberately denied a precise geographical location. Groups of figures, in a mix of gender and social class, are shown on the quayside as an emigrant ship departs on the far right. Red and blue shirted sailors are shown cheering from the deck of the ship and from the sides of the rigging. They wave hats and arms or stretch out to maintain the links with shore for as long as possible. Partly in shadow, a group of emigrants look out from the deck below. They are subdued in contrast to the scene around them. Some wave handkerchiefs towards the people on the quay, but are otherwise passive participants of the scene on the shore. A steam-tug guides the emigrant ship away from land; its red funnel spewing out the dark smoke, which spreads over the scene. The increasing expanse of water on the right places a physical separation between the ship and the quay.

posted by CBD at 09:30 AM

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