Claude-Joseph Vernet

Bio

Born in Avignon in 1714, Vernet trained with his father, a minor decorative painter, and with the history painter, Philippe Sauvan (1697-1792). With the support of a local nobleman, he went to study in Italy in 1734. In Rome he quickly established himself as a painter of topographical and imaginary landscapes and marines, which enabled him to stay there for nearly twenty years, returning to France for good in 1753. Vernet’s years in Italy, were spent mainly in Rome, although he also worked in Naples. This period coincided with a dramatic increase in the number of visitors from northern Europe who were making the Grand Tour, and his art was especially designed for such an international audience, notably the British. His imaginary marines were inspired by the coastline near Naples and his landscapes on the Roman Campagna and picturesque sites such as Tivoli close to Rome. He was most celebrated as a painter of stormy seas and shipwrecks.

Vernet returned to France in 1753 to work on an important royal commission of views of the major French military and commercial seaports. He finally settled in Paris in 1765, where he continued a successful career until his death, working for a large and still enthusiastic international clientele. His works were regularly shown at the Salon from 1746 to 1789 (cf. the third work by the artist included here), attracting acclaim, and the great critic, Denis Diderot, especially admired his stormier and more dramatic pieces.