# The Champion Single Sculls (Max Schmitt in a Single Scull)

**Thomas Eakins** (American, 1844–1916)  
1871  
Oil on canvas  
32 1/4 x 46 1/4 in. (81.9 x 117.5 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 34.92. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/10819).

## About this work

Max Schmitt, a champion rower and boyhood friend of the painter, rests on his oars on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, turning towards us in low autumn light, while behind him Eakins himself pulls away in another scull, his name inscribed on its stern. Bridges span the river in the distance. Painted in 1871, soon after Eakins returned from his training in Paris, it was the first of his many pictures of rowing, a sport he practised and studied closely. The precise perspective, worked out in careful drawings, and the stillness of the water show his scientific approach to realism.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

Thomas Eakins painted this in 1871, aged 27. It is now at The Met in New York.

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Thomas Eakins](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/thomas-eakins)

American, 1844–1916; born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Eakins studied in Paris under Jean-Léon Gérôme and was impressed in Spain by Velázquez and Ribera, then returned to Philadelphia, where he spent his life. He painted rowers, boxers and his city’s doctors and scholars with a frank realism grounded in anatomy, perspective and, later, photography. A demanding teacher at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, he was forced to resign in 1886 over his use of nude models. Max Schmitt in a Single Scull was the first of his rowing pictures.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: American
- The artist was 27
- Real size: about 32 × 46 in (82 × 118 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 20 × 30 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 19th century
- Movement: [Realism](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/realism)
- Subjects: Bridges, Men, Rowing, Rivers
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/821.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/821/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-champion-single-sculls-max-schmitt-in-a-single-scull-met-10819).