Lot 1595 Dα

This work is signed "Joseph Vernet f. Rome 1748", indicating that it was painted during the artist's fruitful years in Italy. He went there in 1734 as a young man after finishing his training in Avignon and Aix-en-Provence. There he became acquainted with the classical landscapes of Claude Lorrain, which were to become so important for his art, as well as with the paintings of Panini and Locatelli. It was from them that he learned how to use light, namely the warm light of the southern sun, to create atmosphere in his works. He also learned how to create evocative scenes by layering his landscapes, creating contrasts of near and far and paying particular attention to the depiction of the skies, especially clouds.
These qualities are also evident in simultaneously calm and busy atmosphere of the present work, depicting fishermen in a bay. Vernet often contrasted such depictions of the "Calm Sea" with counterparts that showed the "Stormy Sea", this was also the case with this piece. Claude-Joseph Vernet's seascapes were in high demand throughout Europe, especially among travellers to Italy stopping in Rome on the Grand Tour. His return to France in 1753, five years after this painting was created, was correspondingly triumphant; Diderot celebrated him in his writings, and he received important commissions from countless patrons, especially among the French aristocracy.