THE SHIP PORTRAIT

Ship portraits were recognised as a pictorial genre in the 19th century, after a number of major shipping companies were founded, and shipowners and captains wanted to have a picture of their ships in the office or at home. At the time, it was essential for the sketch artist to have good technical knowledge. Many of them had professional links with sailing or shipbuilding.

The portrait is a visual representation and an interpretation of reality. The painter decides which aspects to highlight, how to represent shapes, colours and light. In some portraits the technical side is more important, while in others it the artistic side.

Numerous ship portraits can be found throughout history, created for different reasons and using a variety of techniques. Until photographic image capture and reproduction techniques were perfected, the only surviving graphic records of a ship are often drawings, paintings and engravings.

This applied to the engravings made by the Italian artist Fernando Brambila, who in 1791, commissioned by the Spanish government, joined the Malaspina expedition (1780-1794) as a painter, draughtsman and engraver. He had to document everything that happened, all the findings and events with images. On the expedition, he portrayed the ships on which they travelled, the corvettes Descubierta and Atrevida.

From 1839, with the invention of photography, a new tool appeared that looked towards the sea with an interest in naval portraits. But it was still some years before a clear enough images could be obtained to record the details needed to identify a ship.

During the 20th century, techniques for engraving images evolved, new printing processes were invented and portrait uses changed. However, all techniques have coexisted up to the present day.