(Avignon 1714–1789 Paris)
A rocky coast with a lighthouse and a shipwreck,
signed, inscribed and dated lower right: J. Vernet f Rome 1745,
oil on canvas, 123.5 x 156 cm, framed

Provenance:
Joseph-Marie Vien, the artist, given directly from Vernet, in Rome;
auction of his deceased estate, 17th May 1809, Olivier Paillet, Paris, lot 25, bought by ‘Gateau’ for 1700 Frs.;
John Mulholland, 1st Baron Dunleath of Ballywalter (1819–1895), Ireland;
by descent, his daughter The Hon. Alice Elizabeth Mulholland (Alice Elizabeth Massy-Beresford), Ireland;
her sale, Christie’s, London, 9th January 1920, lot 10, bought by J. Leger & Son, London for £25. 4s;
Private collection, England;
W. E. Duits, London & Amsterdam, the Netherlands, November 1931;
bought from the above by Allen P. Good, Wymeswold Hall, Loughborough, April 1932

Exhibited:
Le Pavillon D’Art ‘Zveta Susorits’, Belgrade, Exposition de Cent Tableaux Maitres Anciens de Cinq Siècles, 16th December 1931 – 5th January 1932, no. 114

Literature:
F. Ingersoll-Smouse, Joseph Vernet, peintre de marine, 1714-1789: étude critique suivie d’un catalogue raisonné de son œuvre peint, Paris 1926, vol. I, p. 48, no. 158, also vol. II, no. 2004

The present painting is one of the largest seascapes Vernet produced during the early part of his career. At some time after its sale in 1932, the lighthouse was over painted over, presumably to conform to an owner’s taste. Careful cleaning has brought this seascape back to its original state as it had been previously known to Ingersoll-Smouse, when she completed her catalogue raisonné in 1926. The present painting illustrates Vernet’s first experimentations with differing styles and large format production and, therefore, is a rare example of such an early work on a grand scale.

Vernet probably received his first lessons in painting from his father, Antoine, who then encouraged him to move to the studio of Philippe Sauvan (1697–1792), the leading master in Avignon. Afterwards, Vernet worked in Aix-en-Provence with the painter Jacques Viali (fl 1681–1745), who also painted landscapes and marine pictures. In 1734 Vernet left for Rome to complete his artistic education. There he found himself at home in the French artistic community and made his reputation as a marine and landscape painter. Vernet’s earliest known Italian works are reminiscent of Dughet and show his response to the wilder aspects of the Roman Campagna. His paintings are distinguished by their sharp observation, precise handling, and by the lively interest in figures. The marine paintings are set on an Italianate coast and fall into two contrasting types of calm and storm. The storm pictures vary, depicting ships, either in danger or actually wrecked, as shown in the present painting. His seaports recall those of Claude Lorrain, although Vernet’s own pictorial world is less idealized than that of Claude, and there is a sharper sense of particularized observation that the spectator can more readily explore.

Vernet lived in Rome for twenty years, becoming especially popular with the English aristocracy, many of whom were on the Grand Tour. In 1753 he was recalled to Paris by royal command, to execute the series of large topographical paintings of major French commercial and military seaports for which he is best known. The Ports of France was one of the most important royal commissions of Louis XV’s reign and can be considered as propaganda for the French merchant and royal navies. Vernet’s international reputation followed him from Rome to France, and to his British and French clients he added German princes and Russian nobles.