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

Roses by the sea

Evening at sea

Fish

Noum

Kingdom II

Infini

Paysage ostréicole

Infini

Ensemble pour un voyage

Le cabanon rose

Tranquil XXII

Big fish

Turquoise Blue Wave XL 3

Ocean view

Seaside Rendezvous XL 19

Sable d’or

Horizon d'éternité... (Esprit Voile)

Côtes d'Armor

La Couleur des Mers du Sud

Boats in the Harbor, Rockport, Maine

Your Mother

Phylum II

Headache II

Caustic

Butterfly

Estran

Breath of the Storm

La mer. diptych

Seaforms

Donald surfer

Silent magic

Sunset as the fall approaches

Les Senteurs du Sud

Tracks

Light on the water 46.

Light on the water 45

Palms. Beach 3

Sunset. Flowers

Sunset 3

Ocean. Sky 5

Laguna Beach. California 9

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

Diagonal

Becoming Marilyn (1945)

Abstract charts

This Is My Paradise

You Make Me feel Alive

Sea decor

Vacances en corse

Caspiu

At the edge of the earth

Look the ocean

Marée basse

La baie des lecques

Untitled (Flying Carpet)

Dark Materials VIII

Jeux lumineux

A Rock in The Mud

On Chesil Beach

Les pieds dans l’eau

The magic beach

Roses by the sea

Coast

Seaside

Summer seascape - skyline, water, sunset, ocean

Your symphony- blue, white colorful expressionism abstraction