Art


The Rise of the Pierhead Painters and the Far-Reaching Infl uence of the Roux Dynasty from


18 1750 – 1850 By Julia Korner 70 cywinter 2011


T


he conventions of ship portraiture developed slowly and, at fi rst, the ‘pierhead’ painters worked in relatively isolated groups, by


following traditions which had a special place in the Mediterranean and Portuguese ports, and which shaped the style of ship paintings. Churches in French, Italian, Adriatic and Aegean ports and harbours were fi lled with votive paintings so that, by the end of the th Century, the pictures unwittingly provided an historic record of the ships in the area.


These early pierhead painters worked mainly in pencil, ink, watercolours and bodycolour. It was, and is, a medium ideal for its immediacy and simplicity, thanks to the portable nature of the materials used. Inks and washes dried rapidly and fi nished sketches could be carried home without fear of damage, whereas oil paint remained ‘sticky’ for several days, which posed problems when travelling. It was a medium that had always been considered inferior to oil paintings but it began to be taken seriously in the mid-18th Century. As trade expanded and vessels sought a berth in the busy ports of Europe, the painters would board the ship, carrying samples of their work, as soon as the pierhead was passed. It was in this environment that the Roux family, based in Marseilles, a lively port perfectly positioned for vessels heading both eastwards and westwards towards the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, came to dominate, for almost 150 years, their stylistic fi eld by providing charming and accurate portraits of vessels during the ‘Golden Age of Sail’.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90