“Marooned”
This evocative oil on canvas piece is by the American illustrator and author, Howard Pyle, from 1909 and is titled “Marooned.” So simple, it is one of his most emotive pieces, using the stark composition to depict the feeling of loneliness. It depicts a pirate who has been marooned; a common punishment for those who broke the pirate code.
Surprisingly, he never used this image as an illustration in any of his books. Some critics have said that this piece is an example of when he crossed over from illustrator to fine artist. Pyle had done a previous version of the same subject in 1887 for a piece he wrote for ‘Harper’s Magazine.’
Historians are not sure what pirates from this time actually wore so Pyle depicted the pirates’ clothes straight from his imagination giving them a style akin to gypsies. His works were so well-known, that what Pyle painted is how the general public thinks pirates actually looked like. It’s definitely how I imagine what they looked like…
“Marooned” is currently on display at the Delaware Art Museum in Wilmington, Delaware, in the USA.
For more on Howard Pyle, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
