Artwork Title: A Storm with a Shipwreck

A Storm with a Shipwreck, 1754

Claude-Joseph Vernet

Artwork Title: A Storm with a ShipwreckArtwork Title: A Storm with a ShipwreckArtwork Title: A Storm with a ShipwreckArtwork Title: A Storm with a ShipwreckArtwork Title: A Storm with a Shipwreck
“The wind came out of nowhere, lifting the sea and slamming our ship into the rocky shore. A blanket of clouds quickly closed in—but for the ragged flashes of lightning, we were in the dark. With thunder blasting like cannons at close range, men leapt into the surf, towing a line and tying the ship to a rock, while I, along with my sons, slid down the rope line to safety. A drowning woman, pulled from the sea, lay half-dead on the beach as we came ashore, and another leaned into the wind, exhausted, crying out to the heavens. For the 18th-century imagination, this representation of a shipwreck was the equivalent of a modern movie, in full technicolor and stereo sound. Vernet specialized in these stormy seascapes, often depicting sailing vessels in distress. His patrons and critics loved to imagine themselves... (http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/features/slideshows/claude-joseph-vernet-the-shipwreck.html#slide_1) See also http://www.headforart.com/2010/10/18/struck-by-lightning/
Uploaded on Nov 11, 2016 by Suzan Hamer

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