And the Shark

Watson and The Shark (1778)

Anyone who knows me well enough could probably tell you that Watson and the Shark by John Singleton Copley is one of my favorite paintings. I think the first time I saw it in person I was somewhere between wetting my self and fainting with excitement. It's huge, beautiful, and horrific. I love this painting so much that I've decided to dedicate an entire post to it. With it I want to explore a subject in the painting that has always tickled my curiosity, the shark. The creature is without a doubt one of the strangest depictions of a shark that I've ever seen. (of course you cant really compare it to Damien Hurst's The Impossibility of Death... He did use a real shark after all.) Anyways you can't really blame Copley for not having a perfect understanding of the anatomy of a shark. Real zoology was still in a nascent stage in 1778 when he painted it and Darwin's On the Origin of the Species wasn't even published until 1859.But before we delve in any further here's a little history behind Copley's oh so very scary painting.

The Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living 

In 1749 fourteen year old Brook Watson was working as a crew member on his uncles trading ship in Havana, Cuba. While swimming near the ship Watson was suddenly attacked by a large shark (probably a tiger shark.) The shark attacked twice, first biting into the flesh of his leg, then finally taking off the boy's leg. Luckily for Watson a small boat of the ship's crew members were waiting beside the ship to take the captain to shore and where able to pull him to safety before he met his ultimate demise. Years later when he became Lord Mayor of London, Watson requested that Copley create a painting of his terrifying ordeal. Well, we could spend a whole other post talking about why this painting was so important to history painting as a genera, and American art over all, but that's not why we're here. TO THE SHARK! 

Brook Watson 

I'm pretty sure if you've ever seen a shark you've never seen one that looks quite like Copley's. I know I certainly haven't. Well, looking at this painting got me thinking, where did Copley get his inspiration for this aquatic monstrosity? He seems to know a little about a sharks basic anatomy. The shape of the jaws are correct which makes me think the artist at least was able to view a specimen of a shark's jaw. There are other things, however, that are just a bit peculiar about this animal. For instance, as many historians have noted, sharks do not have lips, the fins and strange streamer like material on the creatures head are all wrong, and there is something inherently off about it's eyes, nose, nostrils and over all set up of the body. Most would say this is all just because Copley had absolutely no idea what a shark looked like, let alone a tiger shark. I disagree though. I think he might have known what at least one or two kinds of sharks looked like, or what some one else believed they looked like. 

Take a look at the 1821 image of sharks above  from Leclere Buffon's Natural History. He seems to get the basics of a shark, the head of the hammerhead in particular, but the rest is all wrong. The bodies are disproportionate and the fins long and wavy. If Copley was studying images like these there's no reason why his shark wouldn't have long string fins, and looking at the image for Watson's shark it appears he must have seen something like Buffon's drawing.  

Nurse Shark

Aside from old drawings and early zoology it would be so incredible if I could find some proof that Copley looked at an actual shark at some point. I don't think he saw anything like a tiger shark but I believe that he might have seen something smaller. When I first saw Copley's painting my thought was that this shark had to be based on some smaller species and that the ferocious jaws where just added on. The separated fins, placement of the nose, nostrils, and long body on all look more akin to small sand dwelling sharks like nurse sharks or dog fish. Looking at  the image of the nurse shark you can see where Copley might have gotten the idea for the longer nose and strange floppy fins. Then if you look at the images of the spotted dog fish below you can see his ideas for the nostrils and even for putting lips on his shark. With both sharks you can also see where he might have gotten ideas for the entire body of his animal. I think what might have happened is that Copley was consulting several different sources and in the end combined everything he saw in a way that would most bring his subject to life.Of course there's no way to prove this unless I can get a hold of some writings or research Copley did. (Which would be awesome if I could!)

Mouth of a Spotted Dogfish

Spotted Dogfish

Oh, and I can't forget the eyes. There's no explanation for them in nature or early scientific sketches, and rightfully so. They're not the eye's of a shark at all, they're the eyes of a human. At least that's what I see. Art historians have stated that Copley based his expressions for the men in his painting on Charles Le Brun's 1698 studies of expressions. I think he did the same thing for the shark. By giving the shark less wild and more human eyes the creature is made all the more horrific. He becomes a character with thoughts, feelings, and motives. He has a spirit and personality, but that of some cruel and evil thing. He is all rage, malice, and hunger. So though it is strange that Copley would give his shark human eyes it makes sense that he would do just that if it revved up the emotional impact of this image on the viewer. This was to be one of Copley's most dramatic works and every moment needed to be filled with drama. 

Le Brun's Expressions

Before I wrap things up I want to consider one last point. Copley did three versions of this painting. Its interesting to note that with each addition the men stay basically the same but the shark changes. I think Copley realized that this shark was unnatural. Perhaps he did more research, or got some tips from those who had actually encountered a shark. The shark is still strange looking in the other two copies but it becomes more animal, more wild and less calculating and closer to something that we know as a  real shark. To me the first edition will always be my favorite. It has all the drama and emotion to truly brings Watson's terrifying encounter to life.

Watson 2 (1778)

Watson 3 (1782)