The Outer Harbor of Brest

The Outer Harbor of Brest is an 18th-century painting by Flemish artist Henri Joseph van Blarenberghe, a member of the influential Blarenberghe family of painters. Done in oil on canvas, the work depicts naval activity in the French port of Brest. The work is one of 6 paintings van Blarenberghe produced at the behest of the French government.

The Outer Harbor of Brest
ArtistHenri Joseph van Blarenberghe
Year1777
MediumOil on canvas
SubjectBrest, France
Dimensions74.3 cm × 107 cm (29.3 in × 42 in)
LocationMetropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

History

In the 1750s, the French government commissioned Flemish painter Henri Joseph van Blarenberghe to produce a number of paintings concerning various ports in France. However, the project ended before the artist was able to produce a work concerning the port of Brest in Brittany. A decade later, van Blarenberghe and his son (Nicolas van Blarenberghe) were tasked by the French secretary of state for the navy to produce a set of works depicting Brest, which had recently been rebuilt; the secretary hoped that van Blarenberghe's works would show the French king the successful rebuilding of the French naval station in the port city. In total, six studies were produced by the van Blarneberghe's, one of which is Outer Harbor.[1][2]

gollark: We dropped that feature for cost reasons.
gollark: Excellent, the cognitomemes worked.
gollark: Fear it.
gollark: If lots of otherwise *fairly* sane people jumped off a cliff, i would assume there were bees approaching rapidly from behind or something.
gollark: As planned.

References
  1. "metmuseum.org". www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  2. Katharine Baetjer. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born Before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York, 1995, p. 376, ill.
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