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Thursday, January 14, 2010

Historical Paddle Paintings - McCord Museum

Here are two interesting paintings by Cornelius Krieghoff in the collection of the McCord museum in Montreal. The essentially represent the same scene with subtle differences between them. In both, you can see a seated figure with painted paddle decorated in a chevron pattern, a seemingly common theme in many paddle paintings.

Aboriginal Camp in Lower Canada
Cornelius Krieghoff (1815-1872)
1847, 19th century
Source Link


Paddle Closeup

In another similar version, the shaft and bobble grip of the paddle are in view. Also noticed that the chevron pattern on the paddle is now "pointing" in the opposite direction.

Indian Wigwam in Lower Canada
Cornelius Krieghoff (1815-1872)
About 1850, 19th century
Source Link

Paddle closeup

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3 comments:

  1. Richard PowellJanuary 15, 2010 at 12:54 PM

    Interesting. I have been using a paddle with a bobble style grip for a few months and find I really like it.

    I prefer the second painting both for accuracy (longer shaft length, etc.) and for the general feel of the painting.

    Thanks for posting this...

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  2. MuratJanuary 16, 2010 at 5:29 PM

    I agree, the first painting seems odd with the paddle shaft disappearing. Maybe the artist wanted to emphasize the bark canoe in the background?

    The bobble shape seems pretty simple and effective as a grip and as a "stopper" for when you paddle while holding the shaft, a common technique I've seen in old photos.

    Great that many museums are digitizing their collection and allowing reproduction on other sites. The McCord has lots of great stuff.

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  3. AnonymousJanuary 18, 2010 at 8:35 AM

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    Joan Stepsen
    Technology gadget

    ReplyDelete