Signed and dated by the most important marine painter of the eighteenth century, this scene is executed with Vernet’s characteristic delicacy and atmospheric light. The artist spent twenty years in Italy, many of them in Naples, and his views of the bay were popular with English travellers and members of French diplomatic circles. His election in 1743 to Rome’s public art academy, the Accademia di San Luca, indicates the high regard accorded him.
When Vernet painted this tranquil scene, Naples was a thriving center of art and commerce, and a great draw to European travelers on the Grand Tour. With picturesque views like this one, Vernet catered to wealthy tourists’ desire for souvenirs of the beguiling port city. Anecdotal elements, such as the passengers entering the canopied boat, add human interest to his compositions.
Details
- Artist Name: Claude-Joseph Vernet (French, 1714-1789)
- Title: Bay of Naples
- Date: 1762
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 28-1/2 x 38 in. (72.4 x 96.5 cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1965.1.070.P
- Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation
Object Information
[Alfred H.] Hardcastle, by descent to;
Mrs. Loyd Hardcastle, Hawkhurst, Kent, England (sale, London, Christie’s, 12 July 1963, lot 48, ill., as A Coastal View with Figures Embarking on a Barge near a Rock Arch with Shipping and a Fort in the Background, to);
Douglas, buying for;
[Duveen Brothers, New York, stock no. 30444, sold 1965 to];
The Norton Simon Foundation.
Nature and Natural Phenomena in Art of Eighteenth Century
- Poughkeepsie, Vassar College, Art Gallery, 1964-02-20 to 1964-03-13
Masterpieces of Five Centuries, Forty-Eight Paintings and Sculptures from the Norton Simon Foundation and the Norton Simon, Inc. Museum
- Houston, Museum of Fine Arts, 1972-10-04 to 1973-11-04
Three Centuries of French Art: Selections from The Norton Simon, Inc. Museum of Art and the Norton Simon Foundation_2
- California Palace of the Legion of Honor, 1974-10-19 to 1976-06-15
Lock, Stock and Barrel: Norton Simon's Purchase of Duveen Brothers Gallery
- Norton Simon Museum, 2014-10-24 to 2015-02-16
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. D58 p. 445
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