Copley's Watson and the Shark

A detailed Summary of Copley's Watson and the Shark

John Singleton Copley born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1738 was considered one of the greatest American masters at his death in 1815 and is to this day. Copley studied with his stepfather, Peter Pelham, and frequented the studios of John Smibert and Robert Feke. By the age of twenty, Copley was considered to be a successful portrait painter with a mature style full of brilliance and clarity. He practiced in New York City, Philadelphia, and his hometown of Boston before visiting Italy and eventually settling in London, England.

John Singleton Copley's interpretation of a horrifying disaster in Brooke Watson and the Shark stands out as a fantastic romanticized horror painting. Watson and the Shark, an oil on canvas painting, was completed in 1778. The painting stands 71.75 inches high and 901/2 inches wide. The romantic painting was donated by the Ferdinand Lammot Belin Fund to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Watson and the Shark portrays a devastating event in the life of Brooke Watson. In the Bahamas at the age of fourteen, British-born Watson was out on a fishing expedition. According to Brooke, he fell overboard and was subsequently attacked by an enormous shark. With the help of the crew, Watson

John Singleton Copley makes great use of line, form, perspective, and space in his work. The audience is drawn in and captivated by the motion of the crew mates and the shark. The wind-blown hair and faces of desperation of the crew members emphasize the horror of the shark who seems to be lunging angrily forward to the helpless Watson. The viewer's focus quickly becomes the mate thrusting his harpoon at the incredibly large shark. The West-Indian crewman throwing Watson a rope, as well as the other crew members reaching for Watson create an angle that sends the eyes of the viewer to witness the danger below. A peculiarly nude Brooke Watson and the shark complete the triangle made by the crew attempting to rescue him. Copley successfully portrays the seriousness and horror of the event at hand with the size of the shark in perspective to the boat. This is so well achieved that the shark and the boat dominate the canvas. The shark is at least twice the size of their small wooden vessel. The tail of the shark can be seen lashing far behind the boat, which also serves as an excellent indicator of his enormous size. Watson himself, while not portrayed as being frail, does appear si

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Approximate Word count = 805
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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