The shipwreck

Son of the famous miniaturist painter Jean-Baptiste Isabey, Louis-Gabriel-Eugène Isabey quickly moved away from the academic tradition and embraced the new romantic style spearheaded in Paris at the time by Delacroix. Although well known for his genre scenes, it was Isabey's pioneering role in the development of a new kind of marine painting that had the greatest influence on his students, most notably upon Boudin and Jongkind. In The Shipwreck the artist clearly looked back to Dutch 17th century painting, but also to the painting of Turner, which he would have seen on his frequent visits to England where he travelled in the company of Delacroix and Bonnington. Using these various influences and his solid academic training he developed a new, expressive vocabulary that is clearly demonstrated in The Shipwreck.

A smaller version of this work, in the collection of the Musée d'Art Moderne in Brussels, depicts a close-up view of the central scene. In both works the passengers, clinging to each other and the sinking ship, convey the drama of the event. The agitated brushstrokes, the whiteness of the nude bodies and the crests of fierce waves contrast with the dark coastal rocks and sky adding to the intense drama. A lone figure stands at the apex of the of the sinking ship, possibly a priest, seeming to bless the ill-fated passengers while also lamenting, arms raised towards the heavens, their fate.