Mass for the Tegetthoff
Notes
Notes: Painted in Provincetown, MA. Journal: October 6, 8, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 21, 22 "finished Tegetthoff comp[osition]." May 22 he had begun reading an account of the Tegetthoff expedition. To EHS, April 12, 1927, "that canvas started out pretty well until he [Aldis] bought it & I had to scrimp on its prospects in order to get the money which was promised on delivery; a practice I swore off on that day, "
Subject is a mass which ED imagined could have taken place in the cathedral of Vienna in 1872 when the men of the Julius Payer expedition, aboard the Tegetthoff, were believed to have perished. In fact the ship was icebound for two years after which the men made their way across the arctic ice and eventually home in 1874. ED note "Very noticeable in this piece was its rose color, alizarin crimson."