, 2008. Fibreglass stone and airplane. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Purchased 2011. Photo © Roman März](/images/content/menuSeeGallery.png)
Benjamin West
The Death of General Wolfe (Detail), 1770
oil on canvas
152.6 x 214.5 cm
Transfer from the Canadian War Memorials, 1921 (Gift of the 2nd Duke of Westminster, England, 1918)
National Gallery of Canada (no. 8007)
Collections
Enlarge image
A Slave in a Harbour, c. 1630-1660
Unknown (Flemish - 17th century)
oil on canvas
181.8 x 91.8 cm
Purchased 1914
National Gallery of Canada (no. 823)
The work offers a distant reflection of the slave trade. The ship and its crew are European, the merchants Turks or Arabs - the details fanciful, stock references. The peddlar-slave, together with the remarkable still-life at his feet, drew the artist's attention; he likely relied upon a life study for the man. The pair to this canvas, now lost, showed a young slave with a dog and parrot, his master's pets. For their privileged owner, the two works contrasted commerce and leisure. The artist has a sense for the material nature of the things he paints, yet his touch is broad and, as typical of Flemish painting, he balances part and whole.
Categories
Audioguide
No Audio
Media
No Media
Library and Archives
Extras
No Extras
Saint Joseph
Plate from "Chatelain Atlas"
Tabernacle Door
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter
YouTube
