Reverse glass painting memorial to hospital ship S.S. Braemar Castle

SS Braemar Castle was a passenger-cargo steamship, built for Castle Line in 1898. It was requisitioned as a hospital and troop ship during World War One. H.M.H.S. Braemar Castle struck a mine, likely laid by the German submarine U-73, in the Mykonos Channel on 23 November 1916. The ship was severely damaged but was beached to avoid sinking. There are reports that 4 crew members were killed. The ship received temporary repairs in Malta, but was then towed to La Spezia, Italy, for more extensive repairs, after which it was converted into an Allied base hospital at Murmansk. It operated as a troop ship at the end of the war and was scrapped in 1924.

As with the other reverse glass painting of the Lusitania, the details written were designed to promote public outrage and patriotic fervour. The number of casualties recorded from the loss of the Lusitania was overstated and the Germans had warned of potential attacks in British waters. In this case, it was recorded that the ship was sunk by the Germans without warning, when it fact it didn't sink and struck a mine rather than being actively targeted. Two examples of wartime propaganda.

Reverse glass painting consists of several layers of paint applied to one side of the glass while the painting is viewed from the other side. In creating such a painting, the sequence of paint application is reversed. The foreground and highlights are painted first and then the layers are built up, with the background applied last. With these paintings, the glass fulfils several functions: a painting substrate, a protective layer of plain glass and a coating which performs an aesthetic function by making the colours more saturated.
Sometimes, transfers or decals are also applied to the glass. The printing and black outlines on this example may be a transfer, with the paint used to add colour.