Group show
Storms and Shipwrecks. From Vernet to Courbet
19 May 2021 — 12 Sep 2021 at Musée des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Paris
· Paris
This temporary exhibition explores one of the most gripping themes in Western art: the fury of the sea and the tragedy of the shipwreck. Spanning the late 18th to the mid-19th century, the show traces how French artists — from the luminous marine paintings of Vernet to the turbulent canvases of Courbet — transformed natural disaster into a vehicle for sublime emotion and social commentary.
Visitors will encounter works that capture the terror and awe of storms at sea, charting an artistic journey through Romanticism and Realism as painters grappled with humanity's vulnerability before the forces of nature.
Visitors will encounter works that capture the terror and awe of storms at sea, charting an artistic journey through Romanticism and Realism as painters grappled with humanity's vulnerability before the forces of nature.
About the artist
Joseph Vernet
1714–1789
Claude-Joseph Vernet was a French painter. His son Carle Vernet and daughter Marguerite Émilie Chalgrin were also painters.
About the artist →
Gustave Courbet
1819–1877 · French Realism
Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and the Romanticism of the previous generation of visual artists. His independence set an example that was…
About the artist →About the venue
Musée des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Paris
· Paris
museum of fine arts, one of 14 museums of the City of Paris
