Replenishing the Ship's Larder with Codfish off the Newfoundland Coast

The work is executed in watercolor and gouache on an off-white wove paper support, a pairing that allowed the artist to exploit both transparent washes and opaque highlights to convey the shifting effects of light on water and wet fish.

Svinin’s handling balances detailed rendering of the cod with broader suggestion in the surrounding sea and sky, using fine brushwork for the catch and looser, wet-in-wet passages for the horizon and waves. The composition centers on the vertical stack of fish against the horizontal sweep of the vessel’s deck and the sea, creating a rhythmic contrast between the organic curves of the catch and the straight lines of the ship’s timbers.

The sheet shows little abrasion; losses are confined to the extreme edges, and the colors remain relatively fresh, with only minor fading along the most exposed upper margin.

Pavel Petrovich Svinin created the watercolor and gouache work Replenishing the Ship's Larder with Codfish off the Newfoundland Coast in 1811. Executed on off-white wove paper, the piece measures 14.8 cm in height and 21.9 cm in width. The artwork is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is classified within the American Wing.

The work depicts a sailing ship at sea, focusing on the maritime theme of replenishing supplies off the coast of Newfoundland.

Created circa 1811, this watercolor and gouache work on off‑white wove paper portrays a modest wooden vessel engaged in cod‑fishing off the Newfoundland coast. The composition captures a moment of labor at sea, with fishermen hauling fish from the water and distant whales breaching the horizon.

At the time, the North Atlantic cod fishery was a major economic engine, drawing vessels from multiple nations to the rich waters off Newfoundland. Svinin’s work documents this multinational presence, offering a visual complement to his written travel accounts, which earned him the moniker “Russian Munchausen.”