Sea

Majestic and tyrannical, the sea has never ceased to fascinate artists. Untameable, this force of nature seems to have a life of its own and has inspired many artists. Since antiquity, the sea has been represented in all its glory, century after century it is honoured through various styles and colours. However, this desire to escape to the great outdoors is certainly not only reserved for 21st century painters

Maritime art began at the same time as history painting - in the 15th century, and they share many common traits. Maritime painting mostly depicts scenes of combat, historical incidents and mythology where people play a crucial role. It wasn't until the 17th century that artists stopped depicting people in their seascapes and focused solely on the representation of the landscape itself instead.

In the Middle Ages, shipwrecks and storms terrorised citizens as they interpreted them as signs of God's wrath. he church even used images of the rough sea to hold power over its believers.

Representations in classical painting were strictly governed by academic rules, and often didn't manage to convey true emotion. Maritime scenes joined the mainstream in the 19th century, especially with the arrival of the Romantic period as emotions played a much greater role in marine painting. The two great masters of the period were J.M.W Turner and Caspar David Friedrich who captured the attention of their contemporaries and whose works continue to mesmerise us today.

For the impressionists, the sea was a sublimation of nature. During the 19th century, artists come out of their studios in order to paint and describe nature as they saw and feel it. By the end of the 19th century, the sea was no longer a simple, blue expanse but rather an eruption of emotions illuminated through painting.

Contemporary art offers a new insight into creation. Today, the technique is overrun by the message and intention of the work. Therefore, we find all varieties of sea illustrations where the sea becomes an image of contemporary creation. Even though the sea is sometimes reinvented, it remains true to reality.

The new generation of contemporary artists create works that depict freshness, escape, lost coves, waves, and that salty seaside air. Discover our selection inspired by ocean waters.

Search by Image

Save your search and find it in your favorites

18/41 1 10 16 17 18 19 20 30 40 41

Categories

Subcategories

Sea

Beach Cottage

Storm at Sunset

Le port de Sète

Stone Cliff

Seul au Monde XXL

Seascape navy - Sunset, skyline, Water waves (1)

Seascape blue - Sunset, skyline, Water waves

Shrimp Boat Eagle,

Sea brother

Sunset in Greece

True blue

Shadows of Paros on the Water

Bretagne

Whisper of the Turquoise Wind

Docked in Silence

Sunrise Seascape

Ile d'Aix n°4 (paysage marin, ciel, mer, nuages, landes)

Ile d'Aix n°10 (paysage marin, ciel, mer, nuages, îles)

Odessa Yachts

Phare de Sanary-sur-mer

Un chapeau à la mer N°3

Warm summer waves

Costa Daurada - Abstract seascape

Altafulla, Spain - Seascape with Sailboarder

Temporal Perception #114

Jurkalne wave

Summer morning

Storm Warning

Vendée Globe 2

Baie Sitia

Saint Gilles de Croix de Vie’s magical dunepath

Green seascape

Lake in the evening

The Green Lake (Grüner See), Austria,

Blue sea

Green dark lake

Blue Bodensee, seascape, water, sky

Where two worlds meet III

Deep inside 46

Sisters at the Beach

Birds and beach

At the beach

Water reflection No 2

Water Reflection

Jusqu'au bout du monde

Free Sea - Baltic Sea

Beach Study

Wonderful Space

Coi

Seagulls

Boat, Painting, Oil on Canvas

Sunset

Sea

Empreintes de mer

Sun, Sails, Sea

Emmène-moi nulle part

Seul je respire

Harbour, night

Chapel / Moonlit Night

Sea Rebellion

Dunes At Sunset

Blue Lagoon

Première sortie

Tuscan Holiday

Sunrise over the ocean abstract 9

Sunrise over the ocean abstract 8