Pirates Fighting Sunrise - Vernet Horace

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Pirates Fighting Sunrise (1818) by Horace Vernet 72.0 x 103.2 cm oil on canvas Viewed at Art Gallery of Ontario on 25th September 2012 I have chosen to write about Horace Vernet’s “Pirates Fighting Sunrise” painted in 1818. Being relatively much smaller in size than most of the other pieces displayed around it this 72.0 x 103.2 cm piece oil on canvas managed to draw my attention before any other, because of its extraordinarily realistic details achieved with rich and vivid shades of oil paint, represented in such a small amount of space. Vernet’s piece captures a beautiful but chaotic and stressful moment in history, set in rather complicated scenery. The content of the painting altogether creates a sense of chaos and confusion for the viewer. The scene is set during sunrise; the sky is seen during its transition from night to day, somewhere between the two. The representation of the water body captures the motion of the high tides suggests that there is a lack of control over the situation as we see the position of the boats. Adding to the factors suggesting that the figures suffered a lack of control on the situation is the paddle we see floating away towards the bottom right corner of the painting, where the artist has cleverly incorporated his signature to make it look like a part or the picture, engraved in the wooden paddle. Some of the figures on the boats are fighting but it is difficult to tell who is fighting whom. Though there are two different boats the people seem to have gotten off their own either to protect themselves or attack the others. We also see a nude dead body and someone mourning over it. Overall, everything going on that boat which is the central focus of the painting is rather confusing but it can be assumed. Another important aspect of this painting that makes the viewer feel restless and confused is the angel it is

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