CONSTANTINOS VOLANAKIS | Burning of a Turkish Flagship

The canvas has been lined and is securely attached to a keyed wooden stretcher. There is a fine dust lining covering the back of the canvas. Inspection under ultra-violet light reveals an un-even layer of residual varnish which prevents the UV light from fully penetrating and makes the surface quite difficult to read. However, some isolated spots of cosmetic retouching are visible in the sky closer to the centre of the left framing edge and in the upper right corner. It appears some areas in the fire might have been retouched, possibly following some thinness to the paint due to old cleaning. Otherwise, this work presents very well, is overall in good condition and is ready to hang. Presented in a simple gilt frame. Colours are deeper in reality than in the catalogue illustration.
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Burning of a Turkish Flagship depicts a strategy used by Greek revolutionary fighters to attack their Turkish oppressors which eventually led to the liberation of Greece. The tactic of attaching a small boat laden with explosives (known as a fire ship) to the side of a frigate was used by Greek freedom fighters s such as Canaris, Papamanolis and Barbatsis. One of the most famous of such ambushes was the destruction of the 'Mansourija'. On the evening of 27 May 1821 the thirty three year old freedom fighter Dimitris Papamanolis sailed his small vessel up to the port side of the frigate and set it ablaze. The devastating fire spread throughout the Turkish ship killing 600 sailors.  Volanakis won renown as the foremost Greek marine painter of the nineteenth century through his masterful representation of ships, detailed recordings of naval battles and sensitive rendering of atmospheric changes. Variously signed and dated, burning boats at sea were a common subject matter for the artist, who sometimes worked on them with the assistance of his studio. In the present work, through the use of light and colour, Volanakis has presented the ambush to theatrical effect. The billowing flames from the smaller fire ship set against the tilting frigate are dramatised by a swirling cloud of smoke. Volanakis has chosen to set the scene against an almost monochromatic moonlit sky and sea, setting into relief the vibrant reds and yellows of the smoke and flames.



We are grateful to Manolis Vlachos for his assistance in cataloguing this work.