Marine Painting, Copenhagen Harbor by Johan Jens Neumann, Framed

Sail and steam share one harbor. Only one of them is going to last.

This marine painting of Copenhagen Harbor is oil on canvas, ca. 1890, by Johan Jens Neumann (1860-1940). Harbor scenes of this kind were painted for a public that knew its ships, including merchants and seafarers who expected the rigging to be right. A tall square-rigged ship flying a red and white flag sits left of center, with a small boat under an amber sail nearby. At far right, a steamer trails black smoke into a pale sky. The black frame has a gilt inner border and measures 34 inches wide by 24.5 high.

The water is calm. The century was not.