(Avignon 1714–1789 Paris)
A moonlit seaport with figures,
bears a signature lower centre: J. Vernet,
oil on panel, 55 x 77.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
with Thomas Agnew & Sons, London (according to two old labels on the reverse);
art market, England, 1966;
where acquired by the grandfather of the present owner

Claude Joseph Vernet’s was celebrated for his seascapes and his work was executed with particular attention to atmospheric and light effects, combined with great care in depicting figures in a naturalistic events. The foreground of the present composition is animated by fishermen and other figures warming themselves by a fire and the expanse of the becalmed sea is illuminated by moonlight.

Born in 1714 in Avignon, Vernet embarked on his artistic career at a young age in the atelier of his father, an artist specialised in the creation of decorative panels and sedan chairs. In 1734, he moved to Rome, where he remained for twenty years; there he was able to study the work of artists including Claude Lorrain, Gaspard Dughet and Andrea Locatelli. His views of harbours and stormy seas became particularly sought after by the English aristocracy. This painting has an English provenance, confirmed by the old Thomas Agnew & Sons label on the back of the panel.

Venet’s reputation spread throughout Europe and in 1753 the artist was called back to France by the Marquis de Mariny, who commissioned him to paint a series of twenty-four views of French ports on the orders of Louis XV; only fifteen of these, however, were completed (the works are now divided between the Louvre and the Musée de la Marine in Paris). The painter was also elected a member of the French Academy.