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Upgrade your walls with Man Proposes, God Disposes - Edwin Henry Landseer - Oil Painting. Every fine art reproduction is painted entirely by hand, so the surface carries the depth and variation of an original oil painting rather than the flatness of a digital canvas print.
1864
Oil on canvas
91.4 x 243.7 cm
Royal Holloway College.
The work was inspired by the search for Franklin's lost expedition which disappeared in the Arctic after 1845. The painting is in the collection of Royal Holloway, University of London.
The painting adopts the dark tones of Landseer's later works. The scene shows two polar bears among the scattered wreckage of the expedition - a telescope, the tattered remains of a red ensign, a sail, and human bones, which William Michael Rossetti called "the saddest of membra disjecta". The image shows humanity and civilization defeated by "nature, red in tooth and claw", and can be seen as a commentary on the crisis of British triumphalism and imperialism in the middle of the 19th century.
The phrase "Man proposes, but God disposes" is a translation of the Latin phrase "Homo proponit, sed Deus disponit" from Book I, chapter 19, of The Imitation of Christ by the German cleric Thomas à Kempis. A few modernized and paraphrased Bible translations use it as a translation of Proverbs 19:21, but the original of this verse is longer and more elaborate.
The fine art subject is rebuilt stroke by stroke in oil, giving the finished canvas the depth expected of traditional oil painting wall decor.
Oil on canvas remains the reference standard for traditional reproductions. Our artists apply pigment by hand, blending the fine art tones directly on the surface for depth that a printed fine art oil painting simply cannot match.
traditional canvas wall art is one of the easiest ways to warm a gallery wall. Pair this piece with natural linen, dark wood, or brushed brass, and let the hand painted surface do the rest.
| Size | Price |
|---|---|
| 20 X 60 in | $197.48 |
| 24 X 72 in | $249.98 |
| 30 x 90 in | $365.48 |
The sizes shown are the reproduction canvas sizes we paint to order. The dimensions given in a work's description refer to the original artwork and will differ from the sizes offered here. Not sure? Read the size guide or e-mail us.
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Every canvas is painted by hand in oils on artist-grade stretched canvas, with an extra blank border left for framing. How to care for your painting.
Measurements are on the size guide, or e-mail [email protected] and we reply within one business day.
