明治11年１月、軍艦清輝は一年三ヶ月にわたる欧州各国を巡る航海に出発しました。清輝は明治9年に竣工した日本初の国産軍艦です。日本人のみで遠征して来た清輝(艦長 井上良馨少佐)を各国は大歓迎しました。

残念ながらその航海記にはコロンボ〜マルタの記録が欠落していて、日本軍艦として初めてスエズ運河を通過した時の様子は分かりません。だから絵は想像です。初期のスエズ運河の水深は浅く、大型の艦船は石炭や積荷を下ろして曳船に引かれたらしいです。またこの一帯は無風で、帆走できなかったとも。

今回地味な絵面の割に悩みどころ満載でした。最初は清輝を大きく中央に配した構図でしたが、砂漠の広がりを見せたくて船を小さく描きました。また途中まで順光で描いていたのを、太陽の光を強調したくて逆光に。

アクリル キャンバス F６

In January 1878, the warship Seiki set out on a one-year, three-month voyage around Europe. Seiki was Japan's first domestically-built warship, completed in 1876. The expedition was made by an all-Japanese crew, and was warmly welcomed by all the countries.

Unfortunately, the logbook is missing the records from Colombo to Malta, so we don't know what it was like on board the Seiki, the first Japanese warship to pass through the Suez Canal. Therefore, the painting is my imagination. In the early days, the water in the Suez Canal was shallow, and large ships unloaded their coal and other cargo and were pulled by tugboats. It is also said that there was no wind in this area, so sailing was not possible.

This time, despite the modest image, there were many things to consider. At first, I had planned to place Seiki large and in the center, but I wanted to show the expanse of the desert, so I painted the ship small. I also painted with the sun in the front until halfway through, but I changed it to backlighting to emphasize the sunlight.

Acrylic on canvas, F6