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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Subcategories

Sea

Horizon Line – VI

Light House

Blue Sky

Beach Day

Evening on the gulf horizontal version - Sorrento Italy painting & frame

Boats. Evening

Music of the sea

Cliff

Seascape Akamas

City port

Sunset

Sails at sea

Under sail

By the sea

Sunday afternoon on the shore

Glaz I

Glaz IX

A5 - Rivages

Waves

Ionic Vista

Girl with a ball

Untitled 34

Slow Boat

Midcentury Coastal Hues

Un jour de mon rêve

Sunny Beach

Faro bianco e rosso

Seascape at Blacksand Beach, Iceland

Sunset at Sea

Eclats d'écume 129

Eclats d'écume 127

Eclats d'écume 126

Eclats d'écume 125

Au coude à coude

Dive, Let's Play! The Joy of the Ocean

I Look at the Light

Orange Fish Still Life

Tranquillity XX

Tranquillity XXIII

12 series Ultramarine arctic summer

Movik II

Mar

Saint Gildas

Sol Mallorca, From the Series Mares

Toujours recommencer

Another adventure

Nightbringer

A vivid red moon

A touch of a dream

Serenity on the Horizon

Sensitive stories from Italy 1

Bird of Paradise

A view of the bay and city of Sissi. Crete

Baltic sea with south sea flair

Sur l'aube

Vit-elle toujours là-bas ?

Fin d'été

Je partirai avec la marée

Seaside Postcard

Zapallo Bay

Kurion Beach

FRA 123

Vacances - Limited Edition of 20 Fine Art Prints

Sundown Symphony

Colorful summer

Sailboats in Repose