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Gustave Bourgain(French, 1855-1921)Gilding the figurehead, Porto
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Gustave Bourgain (French, 1855-1921)
signed and dated 'G. Bourgain 86' (lower left)
oil on canvas
75 x 105cm (29 1/2 x 41 5/16in).
Footnotes
Although bow ornamentation had been an integral part of ships since the Viking longboats of 800-1100 AD, figureheads were not common until the development of galleons in the 16th century. Often the purpose of the figurehead was two-fold. Firstly to indicate the name of a ship in a non-literate society, secondly in the case of naval ships, it demonstrated the might and wealth of the owner. It was therefore important to maintain the upkeep of each ship's figurehead, as is being done in the present lot. The introduction of the military sailing ship in the late 19th century saw the practice largely die out, however.
Although Bourgain painted genre, landscapes, still lives and Orientalist scenes (including two pictures of Napoleon in Cairo), he seems to have had a penchant for painting the everyday life of sailors. There are recorded pictures by him showing a sailor having his photograph taken by a lady photographer, sailors drinking outside a quayside inn and perhaps most amusing of all, a watercolour depicting a sailor having his hair cut by his fellow matelots below decks on the Austerlitz (sold Bonhams, 14th January 1999, lot 116).
























