Moonlight

Claude-Joseph Vernet prints bring the sea into your home, from calm Mediterranean harbors at sunset to ships fighting a storm. Vernet was the leading French marine painter of the 18th century, famous for his series of the seaports of France painted for King Louis XV. This collection gathers art prints of his moonlit ports, shipwrecks, Italian landscapes with washerwomen and fishermen, and his lively figure studies.

About Claude-Joseph Vernet

Claude-Joseph Vernet was born in Avignon on 14 August 1714, the son of a decorative painter, and by fourteen he was helping his father with important work. Seeking more than painting sedan chairs, he set off for Rome in 1734. The sea voyage made a deep impression on him, and in Rome he trained with the marine painters Adrien Manglard and Bernardino Fergioni and studied the landscapes of Claude Lorrain.

He spent about twenty years in Italy, building an international clientele and gradually winning attention in Rome. In 1745 he married an Englishwoman he had met there. From 1746 he sent paintings to the Paris Salon, and he continued to exhibit there almost until his death.

In 1753 Louis XV recalled him to Paris and commissioned a series of the seaports of France, the largest royal painting commission of the reign. Vernet completed fifteen views between 1753 and 1765. His clients included Catherine the Great of Russia. His son Carle and grandson Horace also became well-known painters. He died in his lodgings in the Louvre in Paris on 3 December 1789.

Style and Subjects

Vernet's seascapes combine careful observation of light and weather with a harmonious, decorative design. He painted the sea in every mood: still harbors glowing at sunset, moonlight on the water, and dramatic storms with ships breaking up on the rocks while survivors struggle ashore.

People are always part of his scenes: fishermen hauling nets, washerwomen at a river, sailors and merchants on the quays. He often painted pictures in sets, such as the times of day or seasons, and his Italian landscapes with waterfalls, bridges and ruins recall Claude Lorrain.

Famous Works

• Charles III Hunting on Lake Licola (1746), Museo di Capodimonte, Naples. A royal hunting party on a lake near Naples.
• A Sporting Contest on the Tiber at Rome (1750), National Gallery, London. A crowded festive scene on the river.
• The Port of Marseille (1754), Louvre, Paris. One of his celebrated Ports of France for Louis XV.
• The Four Times of Day (1757), Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide. A set showing a harbor from morning to night.
• View of Rochefort Harbor (1759), Louvre and Musée national de la Marine. Another of the royal Ports of France series.
• Entrance to the Port of Palermo by Moonlight (1769), Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg. A glowing moonlit harbor.
• Summer Evening, Landscape in Italy (1773), National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. A warm Italian evening by the water.

Decorating with Vernet Prints

Vernet's harbors and seascapes are classic choices for a living room, study or hallway. The warm sunset tones and silvery moonlight of his ports look elegant in gilt frames and suit traditional, coastal and nautical interiors.

His storm and shipwreck scenes make a dramatic focal point above a fireplace or desk, while a set of his times-of-day paintings works beautifully hung in a row along a corridor or dining room wall.

FAQ

What art movement was Claude-Joseph Vernet part of?

Vernet was an 18th-century French landscape and marine painter working in the classical tradition of Claude Lorrain, with a feeling for weather and atmosphere that later appealed to Romantic painters.

What is Claude-Joseph Vernet's most famous work?

His series of the Ports of France, painted for Louis XV between 1753 and 1765, is his best-known work. Most of the paintings are in the Louvre and the Musée national de la Marine in Paris.

Where can I see Vernet's original paintings?

The Louvre and the Musée national de la Marine in Paris hold the Ports of France. His work is also in the National Gallery and the Wallace Collection in London, the Hermitage and museums worldwide.

How can you recognize a Claude-Joseph Vernet painting?

Look for harbors and coastlines with soft, glowing light, ships and busy small figures, and often a dramatic sky, whether a peaceful sunset, moonlight or a raging storm.

Was Vernet part of a family of painters?

Yes. His father was a decorative painter, his son Carle Vernet painted horses and battles, his grandson Horace Vernet became a famous history painter, and his daughter Marguerite Émilie Chalgrin also painted.

Related Artists

• Claude Lorrain — the earlier master of harbor and landscape painting whose style he followed
• Carle Vernet — his son, a painter of horses and battle scenes
• Horace Vernet — his grandson, who painted him tied to a mast during a storm
• Hubert Robert — fellow French painter of Italian views and ruins
• Philip James de Loutherbourg — painter of dramatic storms and shipwrecks