Night Fire, 19th-century Continental Harbour Scene

19th century

Sold by Brave Fine Art

Description

An atmospheric 19th-century harbour scene depicting a working sailboat before a large coastal fire.

Along the shoreline, several silhouetted landmarks guide our eye towards a distant steamboat. Its smoke seems to echo the flames that rise from the nearby burning buildings.

It’s interesting that the artist has juxtaposed a traditional sailboat with a fierce industrial fire, as perhaps this is a commentary on urban industrialisation. It reminds us a little of JMW Turner’s ‘The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons’, in which he paints two almighty fires that dominate the night’s sky.

The painting is housed within a handsome gilded frame with coved sides and a beaded inner border. Signed illegibly in the lower left.

Medium: Oil on canvas

Size including frame: 22½” x 18” / 57cm x 46cm

Year of creation: c. 1875

Provenance: England

Condition: Canvas relined. Craquelure throughout but paint layer stable under varnish. Framed with age-related wear.

Physical Dimensions

Height

46cm (18.11")

Width

57cm (22.44")

Depth

4cm (1.57")

Declaration

Brave Fine Art has dated this piece to the 19th Century.

Reference Numbers

Sellingantiques Reference

SA678753

Description

An atmospheric 19th-century harbour scene depicting a working sailboat before a large coastal fire.

Along the shoreline, several silhouetted landmarks guide our eye towards a distant steamboat. Its smoke seems to echo the flames that rise from the nearby burning buildings.

“

It’s interesting that the artist has juxtaposed a traditional sailboat with a fierce industrial fire, as perhaps this is a commentary on urban industrialisation.

Brave Fine Art

It reminds us a little of JMW Turner’s ‘The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons’, in which he paints two almighty fires that dominate the night’s sky.