CONSTANTINOS VOLANAKIS

(1837-1907)

Deux navires en haute mer

Footnotes

A fine example of Volanakis's sought-after Munich period, as indicated by its signature in Latin characters, Deux navires en haute mer showcases virtuoso brushwork, immediacy of execution, and unity of effect, displaying the artist at the height of his creative powers. His perception of the seascape as a complex entity and homogenous whole with unlimited expressive potential, allows him to seek the ideal balance between nature's elemental forces and man's will to master. "Volanakis is in constant communion with nature, in a composite relationship from which poetry emerges."1

Set against a wonderful sunset of transient gleams and captured in all their intricacy, splendour and forceful energy, two imposing vessels surge confidently through choppy seas in complete command of the waters surrounding them. Their solid weight and striking presence dominate the picture plane, while the low horizon gives full value to the spaciousness of the sky, evoking a substantial visual depth in the vein of 17th century Dutch masters. As noted by Professor M. Vlachos, who wrote the artist's monograph, "Volanakis, well versed in maritime themes, thoroughly familiar with the German studio art and fully acquainted with the types and styles of Dutch seascape painting, ventured to include in his iconography borrowings from Claude Lorrain, Delacroix, Claude Joseph Vernet, and Ivan Aivazovsky."2

The stream of clouds soaring across the vast expanse of the sky converges with the movement of the rolling waves, creating a diagonal rhythm that draws the eye from the slender tall beauty on the background to the speedy vessel at the centre of the composition. Note the patch of vivid orange that breaks through the coolness of the day, animating the picture and alluding to the emergence of steamships. Half sailboat and half steamer, this hybrid ship rushes forward advocating the values of innovation and progress in an era when sails were gradually replaced by steam-power.

While celebrating man's invention, which would liberate seafaring from the whims and vicissitudes of the wind and water, Volanakis also contemplates the passing of the age of the great sailing ships, pondering the loss of that intimate relationship with nature.

1.M. Vlachos, The Painter Constantinos Volanakis [in Greek], doctoral dissertation, Athens 1974, p. 105.
2. M. Vlachos, "Constantinos Volanakis (1837-1907)" in Constantinos Volanakis. The Father of Greek Seascape Painting [in Greek], exhibition catalogue, V & M Theocharakis Foundation of Fine Arts and Music, Athens 2018, p. 17.