Queens Museum of Art – “Action de Castillo de Marocaibo”; Caribbean Art Objects

“Action de Castillo de Marocaibo” by Jose Maria Espinosa Prieto, a Colombian artist (1796-1833), is an oil painting on Canvas dated circa 1840. This painting depicts a scene of the Battle of Lake Marcaibo, which took place on July 24, 1823 in Venezuela. Interestingly, Espinosa is both a soldier and a painter; personal attributes that are reflected through this artwork. The right side of the painting shows a line of battleships bearing the Columbian flag facing an island and castle. The painting sets within a crystalline ocean surrounded by clear, blue skies. The painting is of a modest size, about 80cm x 120 cm, and has a smooth and glistening texture.

At first glance, I was drawn to the beautiful ‘blueness’ of the artwork. The blue ocean and sky gave the painting a serene feel, which was interesting to me since the painting was telling the story of a fiery battle. The horizon, where the sky and ocean meet, also seemed particularly calm and contrasted the repetition of fierce Colombian battleships, which created an imbalance in that all of the battleships were presented on one side of the painting. The left side seemed empty and only contained an island and castle.

To me, the painting as a whole represents the climax of the battle, in which the Colombians made advances in the battle. Espinosa glorifies this scene by adding serene elements into his artwork because he is Columbian himself. I believe the main problem Espinosa faced was creating a calm representation of a war, which most people see as a violent and stormy event.

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