Northern Serenity

Hans Ole Brasen (Danish 1849-1930), Morning Greetings, 1907.

Mikalojus Ciurlionis (Lithuanian 1875-1911), Sailing Boats, 1906.

These two mystical works, painted at about the same time, in the first decade of the 20th century, evoke the calm before the storm of two World Wars.

A serene atmosphere is created not just through the mirror-like surface of the sea, but by the use of soft pastel hues.

MacConnal-Mason Gallery

Montague Dawson, A Roll to Loo'ard, 1956

David James, The Morning Tide, 1898

Philip Sadee, Bringing in the Catch, 1879

These works are for sale at the MacConnal-Mason fine art gallery in London:
www.macconnal-mason.com

Reading

Rowland Wheelwright, A Quiet Moment.
Charles Sprague Pearce, Reading by the Shore, c1883-1885
Sir William Orpen, Grace Reading at Howth Bay.

Horses

Rowland Wheelwright, Summertime, 47 x 71 inches
Rowland Wheelwright, The Enchanted Shore

Lucy Kemp-Welch, Horses Bathing in the Sea, 1900

Lucy Kemp-Welch, Sea Horses

Love Interest

Emile Friant, Alone
Alfred Guillou. Farewell
Rowland Wheelwright, The Enchanted Shore

Victorian Kids and the Sea

Alma-Tadema, The Inundation of the Biesbosch in 1421.
Sir Edward Poynter 1836-1919, Outward Bound, Tate Gallery.

Sir John Everett Millais, 1829-1896, The Boyhood of Raleigh.
Charles W Nicholls.

Virginie Demont-Breton

After the Storm

Virginie Demont-Breton (1859-1935), was a French painter known particularly for her depictions of fishermen and their families. She was the daughter of the painter Jules Breton.

Beachcombing

The Sea Hath Its Pearls, by William Henry Margetson, hangs in my local art gallery, the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The AGNSW has a large collection of Victorian art, and is well worth a visit if you are in this neck of the woods.

Note the border of tessellated crabs on the gilded frame.

The round, port-hole-like format suits marine-themed paintings.

Women On Deck

Emanuel Phillips Fox, Australian, The Ferry.
Julius LeBlanc Stewart, American, On the Yacht Namouna, Venice. 
Raoul Du Gardier, White Calm, Telfair Museum.

This is a kind of sub-genre of nautical painting that seems to have been popular in the late 19th century and early 20th century. It had plenty of scope for interesting compositions combining figures, cloth, linear elements (both curving and straight) and seascape.

A Peaceful Christmas

James Tissot, Christ Asleep During the Storm
Not sure of the medium here. Could be gouache or watercolor, or a combination.

Tissot (French, 1836–1902) is best known for his depictions of fashionable Parisian women (as in the centre image: HMAS Culcutta, painted in 1877, which looks like an oil), but in his later years he turned to illustrating scenes from the Old and New Testament.

The Hull of a Battle Ship (bottom image) definitely looks like an oil.

Bird's Eye View

The Golden Rose, oil on paper on panel, 2007, 36 x 3ft 12 inches

Farseekers - Journey, oil on paper mounted on masonite, 27 x 32 inches

These illustrations by the New York based artist, Donato Giancola, are striking in their use of aerial perspectives. Though the works are quite large, Giancola has chosen paper mounted on panel for his support. 

When working in fine detail, paper is a good option as it provides a smooth surface unobtainable with canvas without lots of priming, sanded between coats. Paper, however, needs to be mounted on a panel or canvas support, with an archival glue, to prevent buckling and damage. 

Artist's website

Academic Art

William Bouguereau, L'orage (The Storm)






This is not technically a marine painting but it is suffused by a marine atmosphere.

Edward Henry Potthast - American

Francesco Hayez, Italian, 1791-1881

Flight from Chios, 82 x 104 cm


detail

Hayez's subtle use of light emerald greens, complemented by pinks and reds, is particularly appealing.

The painting depicts a boatload of Greeks and Turks fleeing fighting that broke out between the two nationalities on the island of Chios.

From the Sotheby's catalogue note:

The horrific plight of the Chians quickly became a cause célèbre throughout Europe, written up as a vivid example of the barbarism of the infidel. The subject in turn inspired painters, as recorded most famously in Eugène Delacroix's monumental oil painting Massacre at Chios that was exhibited to great acclaim at the Paris Salon of 1824. Although keenly aware of Delacroix's composition, when Hayez addressed the subject he did not depict the carnage of the event; but dwelt instead on the complex rapport between the Chians and the Ottomans. In Hayez' oil both captors and captives make off from the island by boat. Although saved from the immediate terror of events on Chios, the women are still, quite clearly, subjugated to their Turkish overlords - a clear reference to Greece's indefatigable spirit in the face of long-standing Ottoman oppression.

Narrative Element

Colin-Libour, Uranie, In Distress, Rising Tide

Imitator of Thomas Couture, Caught by the Tide

Adding a narrative element to your work can make it more attractive to buyers. The narrative could be dramatic, humorous or charming but trivial, depending on the emotions or mood you wish to arouse in the viewer, but avoid melodrama or cliched sentimentality. Grim narratives, like the potential drownings of women and children in these two works, might not be as popular today as they were in 19th century France.

Newell Convers Wyeth - American

Robinson Crusoe, 
cover illustration, oil, 80 x 76.2 cm













The strong tonal contrast between the figure's dark coat and the white spray behind, increases impact.

Jeffrey T Larson - American

Wading, 16 x 12 inches

Loose calligraphic strokes are perfect for capturing elusive reflections in the shallow water.

Winslow Homer - American

Undertow
1886

Interesting combination of figure and seascape genres. The figures are at just the right scale in the painting so that neither genre dominates the other.

Laura Knight - English

The Fishing Fleet

The Bathing Pool

Jules Breton, French 1827-1906

Washerwomen of the Breton Coast, 135 x 201 cm

The Wounded Seagull