Antonio Nicolo Gasparo Jacobsen (1850-1921)
La Champagne
signed, dated and inscribed 'A. Jacobsen 1890 / 705. Palisade Av. West Hoboken. NJ.' (lower left)
oil on canvas
22 x 36 1/8 in. (55.9 x 91.8 cm.)
Painted in 1890.
Footnotes:
Provenance
Private collection, Maryland, by 1984.
Private collection, England, by 1988.
Altman Fine Arts, New York, acquired from the above, by 1988.
Acquired from the above by the present owner, November 11, 1988.

Literature
H.S. Sniffen, Antonio Jacobsen - The Checklist: Paintings and Sketches by Antonio N.G. Jacobsen (1850-1921), New York, 1984, pp. 177-8, no. 13.

The present work was recorded in H.S. Sniffen's checklist of paintings by Antonio Jacobsen and is listed as one of four paintings depicting the La Champagne in the author's original publication. The other three painted in 1888 and were listed in the collections of R.A. Bourne, Massachusetts, N. Flayderman, Connecticut, and a private collection, France respectively. Two sketches of the La Champagne done circa 1888 and 1892 were both listed in the collection of The Mariners' Museum, Newport News, Virginia. There is one painting depicting the La Champagne in the author's addenda to the checklist of paintings by Antonio Jacobsen painted in 1888 and listed in a private collection, New York.

The La Champagne was a French steel steamer commissioned in 1885 by Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT) in St. Nazaire alongside her sister ships La Bourgogne, La Bretagne, and La Gascogne. These four steamers would service CGT's route between Le Havre and New York and were subsidized by the French government with the stipulation that these ships could be requisitioned in times of war. Each ship featured elegantly decorated interiors designed by Jules Allard and Sons, one of the most notable interior decorating houses in France at the turn of the twentieth century. She was built to accommodate 390 first class, 65 second class, and 600 third class passengers and could travel at speeds of up to 17 knots. She was launched on May 15th, 1885 and approximately a year later in May 1886 departed Le Havre, France on her maiden voyage to New York, running this route until 1905 when she was transferred to the Mexican service. In 1898, she made headlines with both the American and French press when alarmingly she was a week late arriving to New York and presumed missing. She was eventually discovered adrift at sea with 464 souls on board in desperate need of assistance. ('La Champagne Adrift at Sea: The Great Steamer With 464 Souls Aboard Floating at the Waves' Mercy.,' The Columbus Enquirer-Sun., February 27, 1898, vol. XXXIX, no. 51, p. 4) In 1913, she was transferred to the Panama route and then in 1915 was chartered by the Compagnie Sud Atlantique. In May of that same year she ran aground outside of St. Nazaire harbor and broke her back, subsequently ending her career.

In the present work, Antonio Nicolo Gasparo Jacobsen depicts the La Champagne in all her glory traversing across a stormy Atlantic ocean. The strong winds of the storm overhead have ripped two of her sails from their masts and tangled the one nearest her bow. Not only does La Champagne battle harsh winds, but the waves are so treacherous that they've reached her top decks taking with them one of her lifeboats. Despite these terrifying conditions, La Champagne and her crew push forward hopeful to arrive safely to port. Jacobsen has not only depicted in painstaking detail the likeness of one of France's most distinguished liners at the turn of the century, but masterfully created a scene filled with excitement and suspense.