Thomas Eakins (1844-1916) introduced a new type of artistic realism to America. He studied art at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts during his teens. He became frustrated with the school’s reliance on plaster casts to teach the human form, so he took anatomy courses at a medical college to better understand the structure of the human body. In his early twenties, Eakins spent four years traveling Europe and studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He admired Diego Velázquez’s realism and Rembrandt van Rijn’s dark color palettes. When he returned to the U.S., his unfiltered style astonished his native Philadelphia.
In The Champion Single Sculls, Eakins shows a rower resting in his boat. The scene takes place on Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River and depicts Eakins’s childhood friend Max Schmitt. Sculling (rowing) was just becoming popular for the American middle class, and Eakins and Schmitt were enthusiasts. Eakins also includes a self-portrait. The artist appears in the scull featuring his name in the middle ground. This subtle detail also acts as his signature.
The painting has a photograph-like clarity achieved with an emphasis on details and light. The artist renders every ripple individually. The expanse of water reflects the shoreline and boats. With clear mastery of perspective, Eakins depicts the geometric lines of the bridges and Schmitt’s slightly foreshortened right arm. The bridges convey precise multiple-point perspective.
Schmitt, centered and alone, is the focal point, bathed in warm yellow light. Distant glints of bright white and red animate the earth-toned palette, adding sparks of movement. Diagonal lines repeat throughout the painting, from the ripples in the water and the boats’ shapes to the bridges’ architecture. This repetition creates a visual rhythm that moves the viewer’s eye through the scene and balances the composition.
Eakins uses atmospheric perspective for the background. He painted outdoors, observing the scene in person, rather than recreating it from sketches while working in his studio. He aimed to be true to what he saw.
Although the work is considered a masterpiece today, at the time art critics in Philadelphia derided Eakins. They felt that a contemporary sport was not an appropriate subject and believed the unconventional topic lacked drama and charm.