Isambard Kingdom Brunel Standing Before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern

Last updated

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Standing Before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern by Robert Howlett, 1857 Robert Howlett (Isambard Kingdom Brunel Standing Before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern), The Metropolitan Museum of Art - restoration1.jpg
Isambard Kingdom Brunel Standing Before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern by Robert Howlett, 1857

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Standing Before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern is a photograph taken by Robert Howlett in November 1857. It shows Brunel, the British engineer, during the troubled first attempt to launch the SS Great Eastern, by far the largest ship constructed to that date. Brunel stands before a drum of chain used during the launching of the vessel. He carries his customary cigar case and his boots and trousers are muddy.

Contents

Brunel is smoking a cigar and his waistcoat is askew. His pose has been described as casual and self-assured. The image has become iconic of the industrial era and the 19th century, and has been included in many published collections of photographs. It was widely reproduced at the time of the ship's launch in January 1858 and again after Brunel's death in 1859.

Background

A depiction of the Great Eastern at sea Great Eastern painting smooth sea-2.jpg
A depiction of the Great Eastern at sea

Isambard Kingdom Brunel was a British engineer who constructed a number of innovative civil and railway engineering projects and, in 1845, the SS Great Britain, at that time the largest ship ever built. [1] In 1853 he began construction of the SS Great Eastern, six times the tonnage of any vessel built before and a statement of Britain's maritime supremacy. [2] The project was one of Brunel's last and most challenging. [3] With the vessel measuring 692 feet (211 m) in length and 22,500 long tons (22,900 t) in weight, it proved difficult to launch. Beginning in November 1857, it took three months to launch, sideways down an inclined timber ramp. [2]

Great Eastern was intended for the Far East passenger trade but traffic on those routes was not sufficient and it was instead put to use in the Atlantic. It failed to be competitive and was a commercial failure in this role. Great Eastern proved ideal as a cable laying vessel and was used in that role until its scrapping in 1890. It remained unsurpassed in tonnage until the construction of RMS Celtic in 1901. [4]

Photograph

Robert Howlett Robert Howlett, 'self-portrait', circa 1852-8 (cropped).jpg
Robert Howlett

The Illustrated Times wanted wood-engravings of the ship to accompany an article on its launch. Robert Howlett was commissioned to attend the shipyard and take suitable photographs which could be used to produce the engravings. [2] Howlett was a partner at the London photography studio The Photographic Institution and had been taking photographs since 1852. [2] [5] He joined the studio in 1853 and had previously carried out a commission for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to take portraits of Crimean War soldiers. [5]

Howlett attended the shipbuilding site in Millwall, London, during the first launching attempt, attended by a crowd of 10,000 spectators, in November 1857. [6] [7] In addition to a series of photographs taken of the ship, he took six of Brunel, three portraits of him alone, and three of him among a group of other men. [7] In his photographs Howlett, one of the first to photograph men in the workplace, purposely chose his shots to emphasise the size of the vessel. The photographs were taken on a box camera using the wet plate collodion technique, that allowed for greater detail and reduced exposure times. The process required that the plate be developed immediately so Howlett would have had to rush them to a darkroom on site, potentially a tent that he is known to have designed for the purpose. [8]

Brunel standing near a chain drum with the Great Eastern in the background Robert Howlett - Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-59) beside the Great Eastern c1857.jpg
Brunel standing near a chain drum with the Great Eastern in the background

One of the group photographs, which also shows three manual workers, has Brunel standing near to one of the checking drums which held long lengths of large chain used to restrain the ship as it was lowered down the ramp. This photograph has been referred to with the title The Great Eastern (wheel and chain drum) and a copy is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. [2] [9] The three individual photographs of Brunel all show him standing in front of a checking drum. [10]

His most famous of the individual photographs became known by the title Isambard Kingdom Brunel Standing Before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern. In this photograph Brunel stands casually while smoking a cigar and looking out of shot, his hands in his trouser pockets. His trousers and boots are muddy and his waistcoat is askew. [10] Brunel wears his cigar case slung across his shoulder, as was his practice when out in public. [2] Having taken other photographs from an oblique angle Howlett moved his camera to a position directly in front of the drum. [7]

IK Brunel next to chains at the launching of SS Great Eastern 1857.png
Robert Howlett - Isambard Kingdom Brunel by the launching chains of the SS Great Eastern 1857.jpg
The other two individual portraits of Brunel taken by Howlett, only one image from the stereogram is shown

In another of the individual photographs, Brunel is in a similar pose and clothes, but leaning against the chains and the camera is positioned to one side of the drum. [11] In the third individual photograph (a stereogram) Brunel, wearing lighter trousers and without his pocket watch or cigar, is seated on a post in front of the chain drum. He looks directly at the camera with his right hand tucked into his waistcoat. [12]

Publication

Harral's wood-engraving, as published on 16 January 1858 Brunel harral.png
Harral's wood-engraving, as published on 16 January 1858

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Standing Before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern was captured on a glass photographic plate from which a print was probably produced at The Photographic Institution. [6] It was converted into an engraving by Horace Harral and published in a special edition of the Illustrated Times on 16 January 1858, ahead of the vessel's successful 31 January launch. [13] [14] [15] [16] The photograph was afterwards widely distributed as a carte-de-visite and as a stereoscopic image, it was described at the time as "among the most attractive features in the printsellers' shop windows". [16] [17]

The photographs were important in providing positive publicity for the Great Eastern project, which was beset with delays and financial difficulties. [8] The series of photographs became Howlett's most famous work and was one of his last commissions; he died from fever in 1858. [5] After Brunel's death on 15 September 1859, versions of the photograph, bearing a facsimile of his signature, were published. [2]

Interpretation

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York holds a copy of the photograph. They state that Brunel's pose conveys a sense of self-assurance and determination and note that his muddied clothing reflects his willingness to get involved with the works on site. [2] Cultural historian Charles Saumarez Smith says the photograph conveys an "impression of swaggering casualness about his achievements". [10]

The National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG) also holds a copy of the photograph, an albumen print measuring 286 by 225 millimetres (11.3 in × 8.9 in). [7] Their notes on the photograph describe Howlett's decision to use the chains for a backdrop, rather than the ship, as "inspired" and state that it served to humanise Brunel, by "showing him dwarfed in front of one of his own creations". [3] They also consider that the angle chosen for this photograph makes it more powerful than Howlett's two other individual portraits of Brunel. [7]

John Cooper's 2009 guide to the NPG collection states that the chains have come to symbolise both Brunel's ambition and the "crushing responsibilities" of work that led to his early death in 1859. [18] Cooper's 2002 work Great Britons: The Great Debate states that the photograph "captures the spirit and modernity of Victorian engineering" and "illustrates the power of the medium to evoke a personality and a place in time". [15]

In a 2013 PhD thesis Margo Lois Beggs describes the image as "arresting and at the same time paradoxical" for, although physically overshadowed by the chains Brunel manages to look "confident, in charge, and in command". [19] Beggs considers that Howlett and Brunel were consciously or subconsciously imitating the American circus dwarf General Tom Thumb, popular at the time, when posing for the photograph. Brunel was certainly aware of Tom Thumb as he had jokingly suggested it as a name for the Great Eastern. Beggs notes that the other photographs Howlett took during the launch also feature dichotomies of scale between human figures and parts of the ship and site. [20]

Impact

Statue at Brunel University Statue of Brunel at Brunel University.jpg
Statue at Brunel University

The photograph and others in the series are valuable examples of environmental portraiture from a period when outdoor photography was technically challenging and many portraits were taken in a studio setting. [16] The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) claims the image has come to represent the entire industrial era, and it has been described as "one of the most famous photographs of the nineteenth century and, possibly, of all time". [6] [21] [22]

The photograph has been reproduced in many books including David Piper's The English Face (1992); Peter Funnell's Victorian Portraits in the National Portrait Gallery Collection (1996); Adam Hart-Davis's Chain Reactions (2000) and Aileen Ribeiro's The Gallery of Fashion (2000). [18] [23] The photograph was selected for inclusion in the Folio Society's 2006 book 100 Greatest Photographs and in the NPG's books 100 Portraits and 100 Photographs. [3] [24] [25]

The Victoria and Albert Museum hold a copy of the photograph in their collection. [9] The Brunel Museum acquired a print of the photograph in 2019 with grants from the NHMF, the Art Fund, Victoria and Albert Museum Purchase Grant Fund and the Friends of the National Libraries. This copy was one of the originals made directly from the glass plate, likely in Howlett's studio. [6] The print was voted the public's favourite Art Fund acquisition for 2019. [26]

Reproductions of the photograph have been subject to criticism over alleged tobacco bowdlerization. A version reproduced on the cover of 2006's The Life of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a book aimed at 5–7-year olds, had the cigar edited out. The publisher Heinemann deemed the cigar to be "not iconic" and possibly damaging for its sales to schools. The Brunel 200 organisation, which planned his bicentenary commemorations, condemned the move and a representative of the Institution of Civil Engineers described it as "dishonest" censorship that had "parallels with Stalin". [27] A 2006 statue of Brunel, which drew inspiration from the photograph, at Brunel University in London also omitted the cigar. Sculptor Anthony Stones denied it was because of censorship of tobacco and said it was an artistic decision. [28]

See also

Related Research Articles

SS <i>Great Britain</i> 1840s British steamship, museum ship

SS Great Britain is a museum ship and former passenger steamship that was advanced for her time. She was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1853. She was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859), for the Great Western Steamship Company's transatlantic service between Bristol and New York City. While other ships had been built of iron or equipped with a screw propeller, Great Britain was the first to combine these features in a large ocean-going ship. She was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic Ocean, which she did in 1845, in 14 days.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Isambard Brunel</span> French-British engineer (1769–1849)

Sir Marc Isambard Brunel was a French-British engineer who is most famous for the work he did in Britain. He constructed the Thames Tunnel and was the father of Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steamship</span> Type of steam-powered vessel

A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships came into practical usage during the early 1800s; however, there were exceptions that came before. Steamships usually use the prefix designations of "PS" for paddle steamer or "SS" for screw steamer. As paddle steamers became less common, "SS" is incorrectly assumed by many to stand for "steamship". Ships powered by internal combustion engines use a prefix such as "MV" for motor vessel, so it is not correct to use "SS" for most modern vessels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Albert Bridge</span> Railway bridge spanning the River Tamar in southwest England

The Royal Albert Bridge is a railway bridge which spans the River Tamar in England between Plymouth, Devon and Saltash, Cornwall. Its unique design consists of two 455-foot (138.7 m) lenticular iron trusses 100 feet (30.5 m) above the water, with conventional plate-girder approach spans. This gives it a total length of 2,187.5 feet (666.8 m). It carries the Cornish Main Line railway in and out of Cornwall. It is adjacent to the Tamar Bridge which opened in 1961 to carry the A38 road.

SS <i>Great Eastern</i> British sailing steamship launched in 1858

SS Great Eastern was an iron sail-powered, paddle wheel and screw-propelled steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and built by John Scott Russell & Co. at Millwall Iron Works on the River Thames, London, England. She was by far the largest ship ever built at the time of her 1858 launch, and had the capacity to carry 4,000 passengers from England to Australia without refuelling. Her length of 692 feet (211 m) was surpassed only in 1899 by the 705-foot (215 m) 17,274-gross-ton RMS Oceanic, her gross tonnage of 18,915 was only surpassed in 1901 by the 701-foot (214 m) 20,904-gross-ton RMS Celtic and her 4,000-passenger capacity was surpassed in 1913 by the 4,234-passenger SS Imperator. The ship having five funnels was unusual for the time. The vessel also had the largest set of paddle wheels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Portrait Gallery, London</span> Art gallery in London, England

The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world that was dedicated to portraits.

SS <i>Great Western</i> Oak-hulled paddle-wheel steamship

SS Great Western of 1838, was a wooden-hulled paddle-wheel steamship with four masts, the first steamship purpose-built for crossing the Atlantic, and the initial unit of the Great Western Steamship Company. She was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1837 to 1839, the year the SS British Queen went into service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol Harbour</span> Harbour in Bristol, England

Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of 70 acres. It is the former natural tidal river Avon through the city but was made into its current form in 1809 when the tide was prevented from going out permanently. A tidal by-pass was dug for 2 miles through the fields of Bedminster for the river, known as the "River Avon New Cut", "New Cut", or simply "The Cut". It is often called the Floating Harbour as the water level remains constant and it is not affected by the state of the tide on the river in the Avon Gorge, The New Cut or the natural river southeast of Temple Meads to its source.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chepstow Railway Bridge</span> Bridge spanning the River Wye between England and Wales

Chepstow Railway Bridge was built to the instructions of Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1852. The "Great Tubular Bridge" over the River Wye at Chepstow, which at that point forms the boundary between Wales and England, is considered one of Brunel's major achievements, despite its appearance. It was economical in its use of materials, and would prove to be the design prototype for Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge at Saltash. Although the superstructure has since been replaced, Brunel's tubular iron supports are still in place. It is a Grade II listed structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brunel Museum</span> Engineering museum in London, England

The Brunel Museum is a small museum situated at the Brunel Engine House, Rotherhithe, London Borough of Southwark. The Engine House was designed by Sir Marc Isambard Brunel as part of the infrastructure of the Thames Tunnel which opened in 1843 and was the first tunnel to be built under a navigable river anywhere in the world. It comprises the Engine House and the Tunnel Shaft, with rooftop garden. Isambard Kingdom Brunel worked with his father on the project from 1823 and was appointed Resident Engineer in January 1827 at the age of 20.

The following is a list of events from 1857 in art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isambard Kingdom Brunel</span> British mechanical and civil engineer (1806–1859)

Isambard Kingdom Brunel was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engineering giants", and "one of the greatest figures of the Industrial Revolution, [who] changed the face of the English landscape with his groundbreaking designs and ingenious constructions". Brunel built dockyards, the Great Western Railway (GWR), a series of steamships including the first purpose-built transatlantic steamship, and numerous important bridges and tunnels. His designs revolutionised public transport and modern engineering.

<i>Reckless Engineering</i> 2003 novel by Nick Walters

Reckless Engineering is a BBC Books original novel written by Nick Walters and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Eighth Doctor, Fitz, Anji and Trix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Howlett</span> British photographer

Robert Howlett was a British pioneering photographer whose pictures are widely exhibited in major galleries. Howlett produced portraits of Crimean War heroes, genre scenes and landscapes. His photographs include the iconic picture of Isambard Kingdom Brunel which was part of a commission by the London-based weekly newspaper Illustrated Times to document the construction of the world's largest steamship, the SS Great Eastern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Portrait Gallery and Wikimedia Foundation copyright dispute</span> 2009 legal dispute

In July 2009, lawyers representing the National Portrait Gallery of London (NPG) sent an email letter warning of possible legal action for alleged copyright infringement to Derrick Coetzee, an editor/administrator of the free content multimedia repository Wikimedia Commons, hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Cundall</span>

Joseph Cundall was a Victorian English writer under the pseudonym of "Stephen Percy", a pioneer photographer and London publisher of children's books. He provided employment for many of the best artists of the day by using them as illustrators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Victoria Embankment</span> Statue in London by Carlo Marochetti

A bronze statue of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, also known as Brunel Monument or the Isambard Brunel Monument, by Carlo Marochetti, stands on the Victoria Embankment in London, England, at the west end of Temple Place. The statue rests on a Portland stone pedestal, with flanking screens and benches, by the architect Richard Norman Shaw.

<i>Bertha</i> (drag boat)

Bertha is a steam-powered boat built in 1844 to remove silt from the Port of Bridgwater in Somerset, England. It is the oldest operational steam vessel in Britain, and possibly in the world. It is part of the National Historic Fleet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Robert Stephenson</span> Sculpture by Carlo Marochetti

A bronze statue of Robert Stephenson by Carlo Marochetti usually stands on a red granite plinth in the forecourt of Euston railway station in London, England. Erected in 1871, it is one of few surviving elements of the original station after it was redeveloped in the 1960s, and it became a Grade II listed building in 1974. It was temporarily removed in 2020 to allow the station to be remodelled to accommodate the new High Speed 2 (HS2) railway line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horace Harral</span> British wood-engraver, photographer and etcher

Horace Downey Harral was a British wood-engraver, etcher and photographer. He was a pupil of John Orrin Smith and later joined him as a partner in an engraving firm. Harral produced prints of many Pre-Raphaelite paintings and also illustrated many British periodicals of the mid-Victorian era. He engraved Robert Howlett's photograph Isambard Kingdom Brunel Standing Before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern, one of the most famous and finest of the 19th century, for publication in the Illustrated Times in 1858. Harral also produced etchings and photographs. He is noted for an 1860s series of theatrically posed photographs of his friends. Harral once shared an office with William Luson Thomas and was later a significant shareholder in his company, which published The Graphic newspaper. Harral died a wealthy man and left the bulk of his estate to charity.

References

  1. ↑ "Who was Isambard Kingdom Brunel?". Royal Museums Greenwich. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Isambard Kingdom Brunel Standing Before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 100 Photographs. London: National Portrait Gallery. 2018. pp. 154–155. ISBN   978-1-85514-741-6.
  4. ↑ Collins, M. W.; Dougal, R. C.; Koenig, C.; UK, I. Ruddock, Strathclyde University (14 December 2015). Kelvin, Thermodynamics and the Natural World. Southampton, UK: WIT Press. p. 426. ISBN   978-1-84564-149-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. 1 2 3 "Robert Howlett (1831–1858), Photographer". National Portrait Gallery. Archived from the original on 10 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Iconic photo of Isambard Kingdom Brunel saved for the nation". National Heritage Memorial Fund. 9 September 2019. Archived from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Cooper, Tarnya, ed. (2014). National Portrait Gallery: A Portrait of Britain. London: National Portrait Gallery. p. 143.
  8. 1 2 "V&A · Photographing the 'Great Eastern'". Victoria and Albert Museum. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  9. 1 2 "Isambard Kingdom Brunel". Design Museum. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 Saumarez Smith, Charles (1997). The National Portrait Gallery. London: National Portrait Gallery. p. 128.
  11. ↑ "Isambard Kingdom Brunel P662". National Portrait Gallery. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  12. ↑ "Isambard Kingdom Brunel NPG P1979". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  13. ↑ "Isambard Kingdom Brunel NPG D1127". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  14. ↑ "SS Great Eastern". Brunel 200. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  15. 1 2 Cooper, John (2002). Great Britons: The Great Debate. London: National Portrait Gallery. p. 101.
  16. 1 2 3 "Isambard Kingdom Brunel MW251928". National Portrait Gallery. Archived from the original on 13 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  17. ↑ "Brunel:An Image Exposed". The British Journal of Photography. 132 (40–52). H. Greenwood: 1140. 1985.
  18. 1 2 "Isambard Kingdom Brunel MW00867". National Portrait Gallery. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  19. ↑ Beggs, Margo Lois (2013), Harriet Hosmer (1830–1908): Fame, Photography, and the American "Sculptress" (PDF) (PhD thesis), University of Toronto, p. 147
  20. ↑ Beggs, Margo Lois (2013), Harriet Hosmer (1830–1908): Fame, Photography, and the American "Sculptress" (PDF) (PhD thesis), University of Toronto, p. 148
  21. ↑ Christopher, John (2013). The Lost Works of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Amberley Publishing Limited. p. 8. ISBN   978-1-4456-2424-2.
  22. ↑ "Photographic Portraits That Epitomise Their Eras". The Connoisseur: An Illustrated Magazine for Collectors. 216 (891–893). Sampson Low, Marston & Company: 56. 1986.
  23. ↑ Morris, Chris (2015). The Great Brunel. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Amberley Publishing Limited. p. 142. ISBN   978-1-4456-5080-7.
  24. ↑ The Folio Society Book of the 100 Greatest Photographs. London: Folio Society. 2006. p. 34.
  25. ↑ 100 Portraits. London: National Portrait Gallery. 2016. pp. 72–73. ISBN   978-1-85514-700-3.
  26. ↑ "Iconic photo of Brunel voted the public's favourite acquisition of the year". Art Fund. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  27. ↑ Hansford, Mark (8 December 2005). "Brunel cigar airbrushed from school book". New Civil Engineer. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  28. ↑ "Missing Brunel cigar sparks row". BBC News. 19 July 2006. Archived from the original on 5 July 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.