"As Idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean."

Like many of the other readers, I was incredibly struck by the imagery in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.  In a more literal interpretation, I could not help but think of some of the major painters of the Romantic Era in art while reading about the themes of isolation and the sea. Two artists that are primarily known for these themes were Casper David Friedrichs and J.M.W Turner. Friedrich's paintings often deal with desolation and somberness, and the background of our blog is actually a piece of his, entitled The Sea of Ice, which is incredibly fitting to the story. The majority of Turner's paintings are depictions of a savage sea, with a few that emulate the imagery expressed in the poem.  The passage I found particular represented by a painting was, “Day after day, day after day, We stuck, nor breath nor motion; As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean.” While several of Turners paintings are very fitting to this passage, one that I feel represents it wonderfully is Snow Storm - Steam-Boat off a Harbour's Mouth. While the sea depicted is very violent, the boat is ultimately and entirely stagnant, just like the ship and sailors are in the poem.