Artwork
The Conquerors (Culebra Cut, Panama Canal)
The Conquerors (Culebra Cut, Panama Canal) is an oil painting by the American Impressionist artist Jonas Lie. It dates from 1913 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
It portrays a railway and a train within the Culebra Cut of the Panama Canal, illustrating the massive engineering effort involved in the canal's construction.
The painting, titled "The Conquerors (Culebra Cut, Panama Canal)" and completed in 1913 by Jonas Lie, is an oil on canvas work held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It portrays a railway and a train within the Culebra Cut of the Panama Canal, illustrating the massive engineering effort involved in the canal's construction.
The composition functions as a visual record of the canal's transformative impact, using the imagery of a locomotive to symbolize technological mastery over a formidable landscape. By focusing on the railway, the work underscores themes of progress and domination associated with the canal's completion.
Technique & Style
The Conquerors (Culebra Cut, Panama Canal) is an oil painting on canvas by Jonas Lie, completed in 1913. The work measures 152.4 cm in height by 127 cm in width. Lie's handling of oil paint on canvas supports a depiction of the railway and train activity associated with the Panama Canal excavation.
Stylistically, the canvas's substantial vertical format accommodates the towering scale of the Culebra Cut, while the depiction of trains situates the scene within the industrial subject matter Lie pursued in his Panama Canal series. No further details on technique, condition, or stylistic qualities are documented in the available sources.
History & Provenance
The Conquerors (Culebra Cut, Panama Canal) was painted by Jonas Lie in 1913, executed in oil on canvas. The work is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. No further details regarding commission, intermediate ownership, or acquisition history are documented in the available sources, and no specific accession number or exhibition history is provided.
Overview
Jonas Lie, a Norwegian-born American artist, completed The Conquerors (Culebra Cut, Panama Canal) in 1913 using oil paint. This painting is part of a larger series in which Lie documented the monumental construction of the Panama Canal. It captures a specific moment of engineering prowess, illustrating a train navigating a railway cut through the mountainous terrain. The work reflects the artist's engagement with significant industrial undertakings of his era.
Context
Created during a period of significant industrial expansion, this painting belongs to a series by Jonas Lie that chronicled the construction of the Panama Canal. This ambitious engineering project, which dramatically altered global trade and travel, offered Lie a powerful subject for exploring themes of human ingenuity and transformation of nature. His documentation provides a visual record of one of the early 20th century's most formidable undertakings.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Jonas Lie (April 29, 1880 – January 18, 1940) was a Norwegian-born American painter and teacher.
