S.S. Manhattan 

Antonio Jacobsen painted the S.S. Manhattan using oil on canvas, likely sometime around the turn of the 20th century. The ship portraits he produced offer a fascinating window into the aesthetics of the industrial age. Jacobsen's technique emphasizes clarity and precision, fitting for a subject matter that was all about engineering, efficiency, and power. In the painting, you can almost feel the ship's mass and the labor that went into its construction. The artist clearly relished in the details of the ship's architecture, from the rivets in its hull to the rigging of its masts. And then there’s the plumes of smoke – the surest sign of progress at the time. But it's worth remembering that paintings like this weren't just about the celebration of technology. They were also commercial products, made for a market. Jacobsen's work reminds us that even in the realm of fine art, the forces of industry and commerce are always at play.