The Death of Captain James Cook

What it is

This unfinished oil painting by Johann Zoffany, made around 1794-95, depicts the death of James Cook at Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii, in 1779. Zoffany based it on an earlier painting by John Webber, the official artist on Cook's third voyage, and borrowed poses from classical statues and other paintings. It is held by the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.

Why it matters

Cook was killed during a confrontation after trying to take a local chief hostage; the death was apparently unintended. Zoffany's painting turned this violent event into a heroic, almost classical scene, helping create the legend of Cook as a martyr. The feathered helmet shown was a real object given to Cook by Hawaiians and borrowed as a prop, showing how artists mixed real artifacts with invented drama.

Look closer

• Zoffany never witnessed this event — what choices did he make to dramatise it?
• Why might the painter have borrowed poses from famous classical statues?
• What does this painting tell you about how Britain wanted to remember Cook's death?