Ship Wrecks in Art
My husband and I are currently vacationing on Martha’s Vineyard for a few days. Here, you can’t walk two feet without encountering some sort of nautical themed art. While I can appreciate the beauty of tall ships with billowing sails, the subject matter has never quite spoken to me. So I started thinking to myself that surely there must be some piece of nautical artwork that I have made an emotional connection with. After giving it a bit of thought, one piece of art immediately jumped to mind: John Singleton Copley’s Watson and the Shark. Normally I am repulsed by images of violence. I am always the one in the movie theater covering my eyes during the bloody parts. But, something about the horrible, life threatening scene of this painting gets me.
Prior to writing this post had I never explored the story behind this painting. So after doing a bit of research I found the more information posted on the National Gallery of Art’s website site. Along with giving the painting’s story, the site also has information on the artist, explanations of the work’s formal artistic characteristics, as well as a discussion on Copley’s artistic influences. The artistic influences section goes into great detail about different artists who may have served as sources of inspiration for Copely. This section is a fascinating read.