A stormy coastal seascape with survivors from a shipwreck on a rocky outcrop

Vernet's formative years were spent in Rome and, by 1740, he had made a name for himself there as a painter of Italianate landscapes and marines, working principally for French diplomats and English Grand Tourists. In 1753, he returned to France with his reputation well established, and took up the prestigious commission from Louis XV to paint a series of views of the Ports de France. The series was left incomplete when Vernet moved to Paris in 1765. He was to remain there for most of the next 25 years, producing variations on his well-tried themes of Italianate landscapes, calm seaports and moonlit harbors. The present lot is one such late work depicting one of Vernet's favorite subjects, a stormy landscape with shipwreck survivors.

A painting fitting the description and measurements of the present composition is recored by Ingersoll-Smouse as dated but not signed (see literature above).