'Le Bucentaure' 80 guns, 1803

[Roelandus]

Well they have recolored the sides on the Bucentaure and the shed on the deck is black (Very BLACK) now.

 

I miss the old colour on the sides, the orangy yellow was prettier!

Edited August 17, 2016 by Roelandus

[Arvenski]

What's the color now? Please don't tell me they made her black and white...

 

Edit: Nevermind, I've seen her. She's just more yellow now.

Edited August 17, 2016 by Arvenski

[Wagram]

A yet unknown representation of the Bucentaure by Ange-Joseph Antoine Roux can be found on the net now (auction at "the saleroom"). The auctioneer did not recognize that the Bucentaure was represented; he wrongly describes the ship as a "74-gun frigate", which is ridiculous, of course. It's an 80 gun ship-of-the-line, the flag at the foremast reveals that it was a vice-admiral's ship, the figurehead and decorations are the same as those of the Bucentaure on an anonymous watercolour in the Musée National de la Marine, Paris, and on the drawings of the Bucentaure's decorations preserved at the British Library. So, this is Villeneuve's flagship le Bucentaure. (Auguste Mayer's painting shows the same figurehead but is not strictly contemporary, of course).

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-us/auction-catalogues/charles-miller-ltd/catalogue-id-srcharl10011/lot-ed980ca1-6645-4716-b2db-a8ba00d530bb

see also my comments here:

 

Edited October 3, 2018 by Wagram

[Wagram]

Regarding the question whether the figurehead represents half horse and half man, or half bull and half man ...

As others pointed out, the British Library drawing apparently shows half horse and half man but the drawing of the ship's decorations actually includes a view of the quarter galleries and the transom as well, and the name on the latter undoubtedly reads "Bucentaure". The drawing seems to be an original French one (caption in French) and contemporary. As there was no "Centaure" in the French navy from 1793 to 1818 ... Perhaps, the draughtsman was not really aware of the difference between Centaure and Bucentaure? I consider it less likely that there was a mistake on the sculptor's part for the following reason:

The tail of the figurehead is not visible on Mayer's painting, and the online picture of the anonymous Musée de la Marine watercolour showing the Bucentaure is too small to be sure ... But, in my opinion, on the Roux watercolour the tail clearly is that of a bull , not of a horse, i.e. loose hair from the lower half of the tail only and not from the base as would be the case with a horse. Again, Antoine Roux seems to live up to his reputation as an exact observer. Well, ok, I can't recognize clearly the split hooves...😉

Edited October 3, 2018 by Wagram