Abbema's work

In Abbema's work, the personified Paris rests against a coat of arms, probably of her city, though this detail is too indistinct for certain identification. This shield serves visually as the back of her makeshift throne. At the end of her extended right arm she holds a long, leafed branch, no doubt of laurel. Donning modern dress, as are the balance of the women in the vessel, her hourglass figure twists from a three-quarter view of her lower body to a nearly frontal torso to a profile head. She looks down on the group of women personifying the Arts, placed in the body of the vessel below her, and she honors them with the extended laurel branch.

Following the arc of Paris' arm and extended branch, the figure of Drama is indicated. She is seated at the bow, at a slightly lower level across from Paris, and is facing back into the vessel. Her chin rests on one hand while she contemplates the mask of tragedy which she holds with the other. This figure is more than an anonymous personification. Appropriately, it is a portrait of Abbema's long-time friend, the French actress Sarah Bernhardt. Bernhardt's particular features, as Abbema renders them, are identifiable even in this loosely painted sketch.

The other passengers represent, reading counter-clockwise, Painting (note her paint brush and paint-covered palette), an unidentified allegory (with no readable attributes), Literature (note her pen in hand at rest on the table; identified, by visual comparison, as the comtesse de Martel de Janville, the writer known as Gyp), and an allegory of Oration (identified, by visual comparison, as Board of Lady Managers' president Bertha Palmer) as indicated by the figure s raised right arm. (13) Next to Oration is a shaded figure outlined against the sail. She stands beyond Drama's (Bernhardt's) knee and looks out directly at the viewer but has no associated attributes. Her proximity to Drama and Painting along with a comparison photograph of the artist (see Fig. 1) suggest that this figure is Abbema's self-portrait.

In America Receiving the Nations at the World's Exposition--E Pluribus Unum (Fig. 5), Abbema depicts four men and two women of various cultures, and a personification of America, all riding together in a sea vessel. This vessel is comparable to the replica of Columbus' flagship, the Santa Maria, sent by Spain for exhibition at the Columbian Exposition (Fig. 7), but in Abbema's representation the central mast is missing. As in this replica, escutcheons of various regions of Spain are displayed on the forward and aft railings. Unlike the replica, Abbema's escutcheons are merely blocked-in impressions of shield imagery and not the true renderings on the Santa Maria; it is probable that more accuracy would have been found in Abbema's finished work. The sail at the bow of Abbema's ship carries the insignia of the Royal Spanish Order of Santiago--a red cross often adorning ships on Christian crusade. A plain sail is placed at the stern with a small American flag furling at one end. In the center, another American flag is draped over the side of the vessel and drags in the water, a complement to the fleurs-de-lis covered cloth from The City of Paris sketch.


Abbema's vessel is sailing into the site of the World's Columbian Exposition. The exposition grounds were designed as an intricate system of interconnected waterways, including ponds, lagoons, and canals, around which were placed the more prominent World's Fair buildings. Images of the Columbian Exposition site accompanied many newspaper accounts of its building progress, making them readily available for inspiration. In the background, the low dome of the Agriculture Building or one of the small side domes of Machinery Hall is just visible on the left, while the Administration Building (Fig. 8), located at the west end of the Basin at the Columbian Exposition, is depicted on the right. Based on the location of the Administration Building and the direction in which the ship is heading, the building in the left background is probably Machinery Hall. By depicting the vessel traveling the Columbian Exposition waterways, Abbema presents a visual symbol of America receiving the nations at the World's Columbian Exposition.


At the elevated stern of the vessel, a standing figure of Columbia in classical dress holds a laurel wreath extended overhead. This figure is similar to the other Basin sculpture at the Columbian Exposition, Daniel Chester French's The Republic (Fig. 9). An American eagle, with a shield of the United States as a breastplate, stands to Columbia's right. The eagle and shield are images of the United States, but are also found on the state flag of Illinois, which hosted the Exposition. In the body of the ship are six figures; from left to right, they represent: a North American Indian, a fair-haired and light-complexioned woman in modern dress, a dark-haired and dark-complexioned woman (costume unclear), a South American vaquero, a light-complexioned gentleman, and a European seaman.

Source: http://www.outpost-art.org/abbema-louise-c-15_16_21.html
http://www.outpost-art.org/blog/?p=91