JOSEPH HONORE MAXIME PELLEGRIN, THE SPANISH SHIP FRATERNIDAD CAPTAIN JOSE BLAY

Joseph Honore Maxime Pellegrin (French, 1793-1869)
The Spanish Ship Fraternidad Captain Jose Blay 1858
c. 1858
Watercolor and ink on paper
Framed Size: 23 ¾ x 30"

Pellegrin was a noted contemporary and competitor of the Roux family of ship painters, working out of the French port of Marseilles. Marseilles was a thriving coastal city, serving as a popular port of call for commercial ships from throughout the world as they passed into and out of the Mediterranean. While their ships lay at anchor in Marseilles, many captains took the opportunity to have their vessels memorialized by the legions of marine painters who offered their services as ship portraitists. Pellegrin was one of the city's more prominent painters of ships in the 19th century, his work, which was similar to that of the Roux family, characterized by strict standards of accurate depiction. He adhered to the format of the profile view, often showing a vessel at anchor in a calm harbor, and he generally employed a light palette to imply bright sunshine.