The Death of Captain James Cook (Zoffany)
| The Death of Captain James Cook | |
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| Artist | Johann Zoffany |
| Year | c. 1795 |
| Type | Oil painting |
| Dimensions | 137.2 cm × 182.9 cm (54.0 in × 72.0 in) |
| Location | National Maritime Museum, London |
The Death of Captain James Cook, 14 February 1779 is a painting by Johann Zoffany. The painting records the loss of the British explorer Captain James Cook. The painting was completed in 1794 some years after the death of Cook in 1779. Other paintings of the death of Cook were painted earlier. The Mahiole (Feathered Helmet) that was included in the painting of Cook's death by Zoffany is said to be the helmet given to Cook when he first landed in Hawaii.
The painting is unfinished. Zoffany is thought to have based the painting on another made of Cook's death by John Webber who was the official artist on Cook's third voyage. Zoffany had been invited at one time to be an artist on one of Cook's voyages and it is thought that he may have previously painted Cook. Webber had not witnessed the death of Cook, but he would have known many of the people involved. He would have known the English sailors but he would also have seen many of the natives. When Cook and his men visited Hawaii for the second time they spent some time on the main island of Hawaii where he had been received many gifts from the Hawaiian Chief including a feather cape and feathered helmet. Cook had been killed when he returned to Hawaii only two weeks after his second visit. His unplanned return to the island was due to a storm. Cook angered the native people by attempting to take the local chief, Kalaniʻōpuʻu, as a hostage in order to get a missing boat returned. In the confusion, Cook shot a man and in the aftermath he and four marines were speared to death; the death appears unintended. Cook's replacement, Captain Clerke, was able to very quickly reestablish a relationship with the Hawaiians, and they left with little ill will.
Besides Webber's painting, Zoffany also took poses from Benjamin West's The Death of General Wolfe. The native figure is based on the classical sculpture of the Discobolus which Zoffany knew well, and included in his painting Charles Townley in the Park St. Gallery. Cook's pose derives from the Dying Gaul, another very famous classical statue. The Hawaiian helmet that was included in the painting had been borrowed from a London museum and had belonged to Cook. It was the helmet given to Cook by a Hawaiian chief on his first visit to Hawaii in 1778. The helmet is also reminiscent of a crested Ancient Greek helmet.
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