Vues des ports de France

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The Vues des ports de France ("Scenes of the harbours of France") are a series of paintings by French painter Joseph Vernet, made between 1754 and 1765 to answer a requirement by King Louis XV. Representing ten harbours, they were meant to document and promote commerce and naval service.

History[]

In 1753, Abel-François Poisson de Vandières suggested to King Louis XV that Vernet realise a series of paintings documenting and exalting the harbours of France. The Crown ordered 24 paintings, each paid 6000 Livres tournois, with detailed specifications, such as the foreground representing the activities of the local industry.

Between 1753 and 1765, Vernet traveled to ten of the harbours (Marseille, Bandol, Toulon, Antibes, Sète, Bordeaux, Bayonne, La Rochelle, Rochefort and Dieppe), and eventually completed 15 of the intended 24 views. The paintings were exposed at the Salon de peinture et de sculpture, with long descriptions detailing their technical aspects.[1] From 1758, engraved reproductions of the paintings were made by Charles-Nicolas Cochin and Jacques-Philippe Le Bas and published; they proved popular and were reprinted several times.[1]

The series consolidated Vernet's status as a marine painter, and from then on his paintings were highly priced, "worth their weigh in gold" according to Pierre-Jean Mariette, with patrons such as Catherine II of Russia.[2]

Legacy[]

In 1791, Jean-François Hue, himself a student of Vernet's, was tasked to complete the series. Between 1792 and 1798, he completed six paintings representing harbours of Bretagne, known as the . In 1793, the Ports de France were amongst the first works exposed at the "Central Museum of Arts", which would become the Louvre Museum.

In 1943, the State Secretary of the Navy requested that the paintings be attached to the Musée national de la Marine; thirteen of the paintings ended up transferring, while the last two remained at the Louvre. The paintings were all shown together in 1976.[1]

Paintings[]

All of the paintings are oil on canvas, with the same dimensions of 165 by 263 cm.

City Title Year Dimensions
(H×L, cm) 		Collection Illustration
Marseille 1754 165×265 Musée du Louvre[3] Claude-Joseph Verne - L'entrée du port de Marseille (1754).jpg
Marseille 1754 165×263 Musée national de la Marine Vernet-marseille-1754.jpg
Bandol 1754 165×263 Musée national de la Marine Vernet-bandol.jpg
Toulon 1754 165×263 Musée national de la Marine Vernet-toulon-1.jpg
Toulon 1755 165×263 Musée du Louvre[4] Vernet-toulon-2.jpg
Toulon 1755 165×263 Musée national de la Marine Série des ports de France mg 5236.jpg
Antibes 1756 165×263 Musée national de la Marine La rade d'Antibes par Joseph Vernet (Musée national de la Marine) (15906473962).jpg
Sète 1756-57 165×263 Musée national de la Marine Vernet-port-Sette.jpg
Bordeaux 1758-59 165×263 Musée national de la Marine Vernet-port-Bordeaux.jpg
Bordeaux 1759 165×263 Musée national de la Marine Deuxieme vue du port de Bordeaux prise du château Trompette.jpg
Bayonne 1760 165×263 Musée national de la Marine[5]
Bayonne 1761 165×263 Musée national de la Marine[6] Vernet-port-Bayonne.jpg
La Rochelle 1762 165×263 Musée national de la Marine LaRochelleHarbour1762.jpg
Rochefort 1762 165×263 Musée national de la Marine Joseph Vernet, Vue du port de Rochefort, prise du magasin des Colonies.jpg
Dieppe 1765 165×263 Musée national de la Marine Vue du port de Dieppe (1765).jpg

Notes, citations, and references[]

Notes
Citations
  1. ^ a b c L'Histoire des tableaux, Musée national de la Marine.
  2. ^ Charlotte Guichard, Pierre-Yves Beaurepaire (dir.) et Pierrick Pourchasse (dir.), « Les circulations artistiques en Europe (années 1680-années 1780) », dans Les circulations internationales en Europe, années 1680-années 1780, Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2010, p. 391
  3. ^ Base Joconde: Le Port de Marseille, French Ministry of Culture. (in French)
  4. ^ Base Joconde: La Ville et la Rade de Toulon, French Ministry of Culture. (in French)
  5. ^ Base Joconde: Vue de Bayonne, prise à mi-côte sur le Glacis de la Citadelle, French Ministry of Culture. (in French)
  6. ^ Base Joconde: Vue de Bayonne, prise de l'allée de Boufflers près de la porte de Mousserole, French Ministry of Culture. (in French)
References
  • Alliot-Duchêne, Virginie; Demarcq, Marie-Pierre; Madet-Vache, Annie; Boëll, Denis-Michel (2012). Joseph Vernet (1714-1789) : Les vues des ports de France. Musée national de la Marine. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6.
  • Ports de France, Joseph Vernet, musée national de la Marine
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