Steam and Propeller Frigates, Gerona

This watercolor depicts the first propeller-powered sail and steam frigates built in the mid-19th century. Propeller propulsion was a significant improvement on the paddle wheels of the first steam boats. The huge resistance created by the large drums that covered the top of the wheels, as well as their fragility and vulnerability, greatly limited the firepower of these warships. The first propeller-powered ship of the line was the French vessel Napoleon which was launched in 1850.

The painting is part of a series of 92 works titled "Graphic History of Naval Construction" created by the pilot, researcher, painter, and Naval Museum restorer Rafael Monleón Torres (1843–1900) during the final 2 decades of the 19th century.

The drawings have a similar formal structure: in the center is a watercolor about 32 x 48 centimeters in size on top of a larger piece of white laid paper with an 8-centimeter border on each side. In this border, Monleón drew different pen studies of the boats featured in the main scene with accompanying explanatory text.

As a whole, the series represents a detailed study of the development of naval architecture from ancient forms of navigation to the most modern turn-of-the-century ships. Monleón also produced a handwritten dictionary, "Artistic Aspects of Naval Constructions," which is now held at the Naval Museum.