Grappling for the Lost Cable 1861 - 1871

Robert Charles Dudley created "Grappling for the Lost Cable," with grey oil paint. The picture plane is nearly split in half horizontally between the sky and sea. We see two ships, a sky with a half moon, stars, and a shooting star. Through Dudley’s formal treatment, the composition evokes a sense of awe, adventure and perhaps even fear. The tonal range of the gray scale creates volume and dramatic tension. Note how the artist utilized light and shadow to establish a hierarchy, drawing your eye to the larger ship at the center, and then to the smaller ships on the horizons. The shooting star is a dynamic signifier, its form disrupting the grid-like structure of the ship’s masts and rigging, suggesting the unpredictability of nature. Consider too the way Dudley has used the materiality of oil paint. Short, gestural strokes render the turbulent sea, while smoother applications define the metallic structure of the ships. Dudley captures a pivotal moment in maritime history, but also uses formal and material qualities to explore themes of technology versus nature.