Troels Filtenborg tells about C.W.Eckersberg's painting: The Russian Ship

This painting is painted very precisely, all the details are painted with great precision. Eckersberg's method of work was very disciplined and controlled, and we know it very well from his diaries where he has painted it. He typically starts by doing various drawings of details or elements in the painting. Sometimes he also does painted studies of sky or clouds, which he can then use in his painting, and he knows he has done that in this case. Before he starts painting, he draws his motif on the primed canvas, which is a very detailed and precise underdrawing or pre-drawing. You can almost feel it when you see a painting like this. It's not done by hand. When the pre-drawing is finished, he applies his motif, that is, he applies diluted oil paint on the different elements in the motif. Such an applied painting looks a bit like an aquarium, even though it has used oil paint and not water paint. In the final stage, Eckersberg applies the final color layers and the various painted details. This very controlled and disciplined way of working makes it possible to finish his motif without making any major changes in the painting phase, and we know that from Eckersberg's paintings. It's something different from what we see from later painters, such as L.A. Ring. A good example of this is L.A. Ring's painting of his wife standing at the sea door.