Galley under Construction
c. 1625/1626
Medium
pen and brown ink with brown wash over black chalk
Dimensions
overall: 22.2 x 37.1 cm (8 3/4 x 14 5/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Julius S. Held Collection
Accession Number
1985.1.26
Art Historical Context
Visitors to the National Gallery of Art are invited to explore *Galley under Construction*, a captivating drawing by Teodoro Filippo di Liagno from around 1625/1626. This intimate sheet, measuring 22.2 x 37.1 cm, captures the meticulous process of building a Mediterranean galley—a sleek warship propelled by oars and sails, vital to 17th-century naval powers like Genoa and Venice. Di Liagno, likely working in the Genoese tradition, renders the half-finished vessel amid scaffolding and workers, evoking the ingenuity of Renaissance-era shipbuilding during an age of exploration and maritime rivalr...