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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Sea

Waves blue horizon 2 - Sunset, skyline, seascape, ocean turquoise waves

Waves blue horizon - Sunset, skyline, seascape, ocean turquoise waves

Hallstatt am Hallstätter See

Green water - minimalism sea

La Playa

The Beach in Corfu

Weekend by the sea

La pointe du Gaou - Cyanotype T2

Morning calm

Pins de bord de mer

Crumbling Ice

Sea Turtles

Surf Summer

Porquerolles plage

Breaking The Surface

Code 2225

Boat with Cloud

Dance of Waves and Light

Winds of Étretat

Sunset with seascape

Steamship John Oxley

Dreams. Lake Como. Seascape original painting

Sailboats in the misty dawn II. Seascape original painting

Sunset Joy on the Shore

Comme une caresse sur le sable

Un chapeau à la mer N°1

Spring Tide

Evening sea sunset

Cadaques

Costa Brava

Rupture

Regates

What Is There?

The earth is round

Sea shore. Azure

Clouds on the sea

Evening near Malia. Crete

Winter charts

My never ending love for you

Above Santa Monica

Roun Ocean #87

Arcachon n°23 (paysage marin, mer, vagues)

Susanna and the Elders

At Sea

La Mer

Gondolier

A Beautiful Day in Venice

Venecian Watercolor Morning

Everyday life of the Gondoliers

Lagoon

Boats in the Bay

Light Wind

Beautiful Time

Marine Evening

Wind in Sail

In the Sea by the Shore

Rain on the Horizon

Morning Walk on the Sea

Wonderful Space

White Whale

Party of Sails smol

Butterfly Effect (1)

Boat Trip

Sunny and Windy

Early Morning on the Sea

Venetian Rhapsody