The Minnehaha 1902

Antonio Jacobsen captured the steamship, The Minnehaha, in paint, showing it slicing through a choppy sea under a cloudy sky. I imagine Jacobsen carefully building up the scene, starting with broad strokes of blues and grays to evoke the water and sky. It's like he's building a stage for this star vessel! I wonder what Jacobsen felt as he painted. Was he thinking about the ship's journeys, the people it carried, or the vastness of the ocean? I always think about that when I am in front of a painting; the labor of the brushstrokes, of adding line, volume, and texture, of trying to convey the vastness of the sea with a tiny brush. Look at the waves, each one defined with short, deliberate strokes. The texture of the sea contrasts with the smoother surface of the ship, giving it a sense of solidity and presence. You can see how the ship becomes an act of repetition of detail. But repetition in this way, doesn't that give it a wonderful quality? It almost feels like folk art...