Oil on canvas (lined), unsigned, housed in a 19th century gilt wood frame with composition ornament. Claude-Joseph Vernet is highly regarded for his dramatic tempestuous seascapes, as shown in this painting. The bold diagonals created by both ship masts and landscape, punctuated by the brighter cloaks, gowns, and flesh tones of the frantic figures, lend an overall sense of chaos to the composition. Similar to the composition in the painting commissioned from Vernet by Stanislaw II Augustus Poniatowski (1732-1798), King of Poland, in June or July 1772 and sold at Sotheby's on July 10, 2003 (lot 65), Vernet creates a break in the roiling clouds above to both balance the scene as well as to further illuminate the quay below and cliffs above. A tower perched above, as often found in his pictures, serves as a beacon to the incoming ships and the viewer's eye.

SS 16.75 x 23 in.; DOA 24.5 x 31 in.

Private Virginia Collection Purchased by the collector in November 1965 from London art dealer Richard Green.

We extend a thank you to Dr. Philip Conisbee of the National Gallery of Art for confirming that this painting is in the style of Vernet based on color photographs.

$10,000 - 15,000