From June 18 to Sept. 11, the Walters Art Museum's special exhibit, Setting Sail: Drawings of the Sea, will feature distinguished maritime artists in a variety of media and historical contexts.
The display encompasses a rich assortment of works completed from the early to late 1800s. All of the drawings explore man's complex relationship with nature – an alternation between harmony and disharmony – that ties this exhibition together seamlessly.
It's true that the "awesome power of nature" takes center stage at this Walters exhibit. Yet in many ways, Setting Sail also holds a mirror up to man and his ambitions by allowing us to observe his actions on a fixed stage: the unchanging sea.
A brief exposition on the history of "seascapes" emphasizes the tension between 19th century Romanticism and global expansionism.
One-hundred years of changes – both productive and destructive – are captured in arresting images of naval conflict, as well as "peacetime interactions with the sea" like commercial fishing, ocean travel, pleasure boating and seaside vacationing.
Most notably, the exhibition features propagandized depictions of "military strength" and the "commercial enterprise of [various] nations."
Toshimasa's "Our Army's Great Victory: Sinking the Enemy Ships near Haiang Island " (1894) and Kobayashi Kiyochika's "Our Navy Sinking the Zhiyuan in the Yellow Sea " (1894) heroically frame Japanese naval victories in the First Sino-Japanese war.
Similarly, Pierre Nicolas Legrand's "The Apotheosis of Nelson" (1818) illustrates the Battle of Trafalgar, in which the fatally wounded Admiral Nelson – a British hero of the Napoleonic wars – is welcomed into Mount Olympus by Greek Gods Mars and Poseidon.
Other works emphasize the possibility of harmonious coexistence between human and maritime spheres.
"Riverscape with Boats " (1828), an ink wash by French artist Jean-Antoine-Theodore de Gudin, depicts a "peaceful, marshy landscape" where boats trawl lazily on the horizon.
Here, man's presence exists as an afterthought in a natural panorama, just as it does in Charles Lanman's undated "Block Island, RI" and "On the Atlantic," which feature human elements adrift in the limitless union of sea, shore and sky.
Nowhere, however, is the "smallness" of man more evident than in Jules Dupre's "Sunset on the Coast " (1870-1875) and "At Sea" (1870), two vividly rendered oil paintings that pinpoint natural beauty and grandeur.
Dupre, a member of the Barbizon school, gained popularity among realist and impressionist circles for his "restless seascapes" and his interest in nature at its most "dramatic."
While both works feature ships engaging in specific actions – some returning to shore and others embarking on voyages – each fleet's course is impacted, or entirely reshaped by changeable weather.
"At Sea," for instance, depicts a large ship being violently buffeted by waves, as Dupre's central conflict has less to do with the "man-made" tempests of war than the sea's timeless and implacable fury.
In "Sunset on the Coast," Dupre employs a low horizon line shrouded in ominous clouds to depict a ship running ashore – where one receives a striking impression of natural unrest, and volatility.
Setting Sail also showcases four works by Alfred Jacob Miller, a 19th century painter and native Baltimorean who, in 1837, journeyed to the Western frontier with the American Fur Company.
"Indians threatening to attack fur boats," a 19th century watercolor, is one of Miller's series of "native sketches," in which he depicts interactions between Native American societies, including the Shoshone, and American frontiersmen.
Miller's portfolio also includes more patriotic works like "Don't Give Up That Ship" (1840), an oil on canvas depicting American Captain James Lawrence's last words in a maritime battle between the U.S.S. Chesapeake and the British Frigate H.M.S. Shannon during the War of 1812.
Lawrence, illuminated in the fray of battle, allows Miller to honor the longstanding artistic tradition of glorifying the tragic deaths of military heroes.
"Far O'er the Deep Blue Sea" (1834), a sheet music lithograph completed for John H. Hewitt and R.H. Pratt's popular tune, emphasizes the influence maritime exploration had on 19th century lyrics.
The illustration, along with the tune's lyrical content, concerns itself with the "dream of sailing away in the boat of a daring sailor," and the romanticized notion of embarking on voyages.
The Walters Art Museum's Setting Sail: Drawings from the Sea is a must-see for anyone intrigued by man's complex relationship with the natural world.
The exhibit is on view from June 18 to Sept. 11 and features works from the Walters' permanent collection, including satirical works by caricaturist Paul Gavarni and French watercolorist Eugène Isabey.
Admission into the un-ticketed exhibit is free, as is general admission into the Walters Art Museum.
Other attractions include world art from pre-dynastic Egypt and 20th-century Europe, Greek sculptures and Roman sarcophagi, medieval ivories and Old Master paintings, Art Nouveau jewelry and 19th-century European and American masterpieces.
Students can visit the Walters Art Museum from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays, at 600 North Charles Street.
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