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.

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Categories

Subcategories

Sea

Sunset at sea

Wave

Houses on the bay

Aggressive

Finnis gulf

Forest to Path

Cuba salvaje

Mar de cuba

Volviendo de Alojera

Les Ombres de la Nuit 2

L'échappée belle 5

Ciel d'orage à Cabourg

Mer en hiver - série Mer

Vagues d'orage - Série paysage marin graphique

Emergence d'un univers - Série paysage marin graphique

Bleu espoir - Série paysage marin graphique

L'immensité

Shining - Interpretation of the painting by William Turner

Fearless - series Golden age part

Evening on the Lake

Endless Summer

Granite Coast Of Garrapata In Big Sur

My Rose Coloured Glasses

Aquaplaning II

The beauty of sunset. 3 impasto oil paintings

Besando la orilla

Resting-place

Vue sur un port animé

Harbor in Kerkyra

Malta. La Valletta

On the rocky shores

Rocks by the sea

Harbor near Bali. Crete.

Evening. Aragon castle. Ischia. Italy

Bateaux et voiliers en mer

Sunset

Le grand port

Evening in Marmaris

At Hunting

Rovinj. Croatia

Kanan Dune Road Malibu

Boats Paleokastritsa

Yachts in the bay of Bali

Marilyn on the beach

Sunset over the ocean

Nu debout dans la mer

Neheh

Storm Riders

Splash

Black Hole

Building the palace

Boats on water - abstract Seascape

Replis, entre passé et présent

Fou de Bassan

Galets au fou

Tempête au fou

Brouillard d'Automne

Ruby's

Sun Setting Over Laguna

Dockside

Waiting Out the Storm

Hamburg, Elbphilharmonie, Wellengang

Wasp (Adam and Eve)

Heart of the sea

No Name - I

The Couple