A Corvette on the Stocks. Copenhagen

Eckersberg’s interest in sailing ships was not restricted to the design of the finished ships and to their manoeuvres on the water; he was also interested in shipbuilding. In this case he has become fascinated by the heavy hull of a corvette balancing on its keel, supported by massive timbers. His fascination resulted first in a composition sketch [cat.116], and then in this painted study. Eckersberg never completed the painting; in its present, sketchlike condition the underdrawing and lines drawn in support of the composition are clearly visible through the thin layer of paint, and in the empty areas. The painting thus offers a good impression of his working method. More than twenty years would pass before he returned to this motif, this time in a slightly larger painting [cat. 98].