Seascape with Sunset

In this painting, Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg, who modelled his work on that of marine painter Claude Joseph Vernet (1714–1789), conveys a southern atmosphere. The painting can be compared with the work of Vernet in the Residenzgalerie. Despite Loutherbourg’s choice of a large-scale format, contrary to Vernet, he follows the same structure: the left-hand side is entirely taken up by rugged, high-rising cliffs topped by a prominent fortress, with a town in the far distance; on the right is a Dutch frigate, behind which the seascape fades into the southern mist and the setting sun. In the foreground a number of fishermen, engaged in various activities, give the painting the necessary natural touch. This idyllic view of southern climes and the yearning for faraway places – in the 18th century for Italy in particular – brought Loutherbourg commissions from all over Europe, particularly from English and French aristocrats and Dutch merchants.
Loutherbourg frequently travelled to the untamed natural landscapes of Switzerland, Wales, Derbyshire or the Lake District. His oeuvre includes paintings of animal, portraits, battle scenes, biblical scenes, idyllic landscapes, natural disasters, shipwrecks and stage-set designs for the Drury Lane Theatre. His artistic influence is still apparent in the paintings of the English Romantics.
In Olivier Lefeuvre’s monograph published in 2012, the unsigned Salzburg painting is, for stylistic reasons, no longer attributed to Loutherbourg. The picture is said to exhibit more characteristics in common with the œuvre of Claude-Joseph Vernet. A detailed examination has yet to be carried out.

HABERSATTER Thomas: Loutherbourg Philippe-Jacques de, Seascape with Sunset, in: DUCKE Astrid, HABERSATTER Thomas, OEHRING Erika: Masterworks. Residenzgalerie Salzburg. Salzburg 2015, p. 130