'A Landscape at Sunset' shows a port bathed in glowing evening sunshine. The mood is one of serenity, yet the painting is full of details of activities and the effects of light are rendered with breathtaking delicacy.
Vernet was renowned for pairs of paintings showing contrasting states of nature and his works were especially sought-after by British collectors in the 18th-century. This painting and its pendant, 'A Shipwreck in Stormy Seas' are now the only such pair to be found in a British public collection. The pair originally belonged to the celebrated Englishman Clive of India, who bought them from Vernet in 1773. They are acknowledged as being two of Vernet's greatest marine pictures.
Key facts
Artist
Artist dates
1714 - 1789
Full title
A Landscape at Sunset with Fishermen returning with their Catch
Date made
1773
Medium and support
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
114.5 x 163.5 cm
Inscription summary
Signed; Dated
Acquisition credit
Acquired with a donation from the American Friends of the National Gallery, London, made possible by a gift from David H. Koch, 2004
Inventory number
NG6600
Location in Gallery
Other paintings in the group: Two Landscapes: A Sunset and a Storm
Painting
Claude-Joseph Vernet
1773
