RMM248

Painting by Ali Munsterhjelm

Ali Munsterhjelm studied in the Finnish Arts Society Drawing School in 1888 and from 1890 to 1893. He studied at length in Paris before and after the turn of the century. Munsterhjelm was born inland but moved to Turku in 1907.

In 1913 Ali managed to talk himself on board 4-masted barque the Marion Lightbody. The Marion Lightbody was built in Scotland in 1888. Rederi Ab Aura bought her to Finland in December 1912. Before Munsterhjelm, the ship had sailed to Chile and arrived in London with a cargo of guano in January 1914.

The ship was commanded by Captain Robert Grunér from Turku. He told the shipowner that the artist could join them. A stinking manure carrier probably was not exactly what Munsterhjelm had expected. But he did settle on board and he got to know the crew.

Having been discharged, the ship was loaded with 500 tons of iron and towed into Larvik harbour in Norway where another 1000 standards timber were loaded for Melbourne. They set sail on the sixth of May 1914. The artist later remembered the voyage very warmly, although it was the dead of winter in the southern hemisphere when the ship arrived after three months.

Munsterhjelm filled his sketch book during the voyage, as he pictured life onboard. This painting was clearly made on the basis of such sketches. The sailmaker and sailor in the foreground are making new sails. The weather is fair, and the sails are carrying the ship towards Australia with good speed.

The three men in the background are repairing the spars. A cylinder-shaped boiler and funnel are visible in front of the superstructure. The Marion Lightbody was equipped with steam winches to facilitate the hard rigging work. In harbour, the winches were used in discharging or loading the ship.

Munsterhjelm left the ship in Australia. After travelling there for a time, he crossed the Pacific in a passenger ship and took a train across the United States to the east coast. He returned to Finland via Canada. He described his travels in his book ”Tre palmer”, or An Artist’s Travels around the World. It was published in 1918.
    
The Marion Lightbody loaded coal in Australia and carried the load to Chile where her cargo holds were filled with guano. The intention was to take the cargo to London, but the ship never arrived there. The First World War was raging on sea as well. German submarine U20 torpedoed the beautiful 4-masted barque to the south of Ireland on 7th May 1915. The crew survived and floated on lifeboats on the Irish shore where they were rescued.