Elementary school

The sinking of the Titanic: what the painting gets right

Your child is reading about the Titanic. This is one of the best-known pictures of the sinking, drawn in 1912 by a German artist who was not there. It got a lot right, and one big thing wrong that nobody could prove until 1985.

Stöwer's drawing of the Titanic sinking: the whole ship tilts into the sea with its stern in the air while lifeboats row away among icebergs
Willy Stöwer, Untergang der Titanic, 1912. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Source and licence

The book your child may be reading

What really happened (April 14–15, 1912)

The Titanic, the largest ocean liner of its day, left Southampton, England for New York on its first voyage with more than 2,200 people on board.

At 11:40 p.m. on April 14, 1912, it hit an iceberg. It sank 2 hours and 40 minutes later, at 2:20 a.m., and about 1,500 people died.

The ship had 20 lifeboats with room for 1,178 people, barely half of those on board. Some boats left with empty seats. The ship Carpathia arrived about an hour and a half after the sinking and rescued the 710 survivors.

On September 1, 1985, a US-French expedition led by Robert Ballard found the wreck on the ocean floor.

What the painting shows

Untergang der Titanic (The Sinking of the Titanic), by Willy Stöwer, 1912.

  • The ship tilts steeply into the water with its stern and propellers high in the air and smoke pouring from its funnels.
  • In the front, a crowded lifeboat rows away while people struggle in the water.
  • Icebergs rise on both sides, and more lifeboats are scattered across the sea.

What is true

  • Eyewitnesses saw the stern rise high into the air as the front of the ship went under.
  • Lifeboats really did row away from the ship while hundreds of people were in the freezing water.
  • Drawing the ship in one piece was not a mistake by the standards of 1912: two surviving officers said so, and the British and American inquiries agreed.

What was changed or invented

  • The ship broke in two before it sank. That was only proven when the wreck was found in 1985.
  • Stöwer drew it soon after the disaster without detailed information. The fourth funnel was only for ventilation and did not send out black smoke.
  • It was night, and the sea was flat calm. One survivor wrote that 'the sea was like glass, so smooth that the stars were clearly reflected.' Stöwer drew choppy water and a pale sky.

Short timeline

  1. Apr 10, 1912 · The Titanic leaves Southampton on its first voyage.
  2. Apr 14, 11:40 p.m. · The ship hits an iceberg.
  3. Apr 15, 2:20 a.m. · The Titanic sinks; about 1,500 people die.
  4. Apr 15, morning · The Carpathia picks up 710 survivors from the lifeboats.
  5. 1912 · Stöwer's picture appears in the German magazine Die Gartenlaube.
  6. Sep 1, 1985 · Robert Ballard's expedition finds the wreck, in two pieces.

Talk about it: 3 questions

For the dinner table or the classroom.

  1. Stöwer drew the ship in one piece because that is what people believed in 1912. What other 'facts' might change when new evidence turns up?
  2. There were only enough lifeboats for about half the people on board. Why do you think the ship sailed like that?
  3. The real night was dark and calm with stars on the water. Why might an artist draw rough sea and a bright sky instead?

Also worth reading

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Sources

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