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

Golden harbor

Beauty of Stillness II

Bay of dreams

Morning marina of Kotor

Nighttime Kotor

A beautiful morning

Inspirational boundlessness

Castle. Khust

Morning expanses

Entre deux mondes

Bleu infini

Arctic

A l'horizon

Infini

Paysage ostréicole

Infini

Ensemble pour un voyage

Le cabanon rose

When the Sky Smiles (ready to hang)

Yellow Submarine (paysage marin, ciel, mer, nuages, vagues)

Silent magic

Boats in the Harbor, Rockport, Maine

Estran

Seaforms

Palms. Beach 3

Sunset. Flowers

Ocean. Sky 5

Laguna Beach. California 9

Pin canne de Provence et figuier de barbarie - Boite à clé

Soirée a Natashquan Canada

This Is My Paradise

Blue in green by Miles (paysage marin, ciel, mer, nuages, vagues, orage)

A Rock in The Mud

On Chesil Beach

Breath of the Storm

Landscape 131

Dinard une belle journée

Mer, hello le sud

Hello Saint Tropez

Cap Ferrat Pine

Long Island Wave

Lake Como

Estuary

Glare on the waves 9

Ripples under the Surface

Surfspot

Evening Dubrovnik

Dock of the Bay (paysage abstrait, reflets, eau)

Glimmering Waves

Sardinia. Porto Pollo_7

Dubrovnik

Magic of the French Riviera

Golden sunset of Monaco

Indigo

Le sud de mes envies

Transformation

Morning Venice and the Gondolier

Dessa ljuvliga kvällar

Horizon d'été... (Esprit Voile)

Un ciel de liberté... (Paysage Abstrait 2022)

Un ciel de liberté... (Paysage Abstrait 2022)

Bretagne memory

Road to Marmaris

Rooftops of Marmaris

Where time floats slowly

Panoramic view