Vues des ports de France

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 Vues des ports de Bretagne. 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 L'Entrée du port de Marseille 1754 165×265 Musée du Louvre[3]
Marseille Intérieur du port de Marseille, vu du pavillon de l'Horloge du Parc 1754 165×263 Musée national de la Marine
Bandol Vue du golfe de Bandol : la Madrague ou la pêche au thon 1754 165×263 Musée national de la Marine
Toulon Première vue de Toulon, vue du Port-Neuf, prise de l'angle du parc d'artillerie 1754 165×263 Musée national de la Marine
Toulon Deuxième vue de Toulon : vue de la ville et de la rade 1755 165×263 Musée du Louvre[4]
Toulon Troisième vue de Toulon : la vieille darse, prise du côté des magasins aux vivres 1755 165×263 Musée national de la Marine
Antibes Le Port d'Antibes en Provence, vu du côté de la terre 1756 165×263 Musée national de la Marine
Sète Vue du Port de Cette 1756-57 165×263 Musée national de la Marine
Bordeaux Vue d'une partie de port et de la ville de Bordeaux, prise du côté des Salinières 1758-59 165×263 Musée national de la Marine
Bordeaux Deuxième vue de Bordeaux : prise du château Trompette 1759 165×263 Musée national de la Marine
Bayonne Première vue de Bayonne prise à mi-côte sur le glacis de la citadelle 1760 165×263 Musée national de la Marine[5]
Bayonne Deuxième vue de Bayonne, prise de l'allée des Boufflers, près de la porte de Mousserole 1761 165×263 Musée national de la Marine[6]
La Rochelle Vue du port de La Rochelle, prise de la petite Rive 1762 165×263 Musée national de la Marine
Rochefort Vue du port de Rochefort, prise du magasin des Colonies 1762 165×263 Musée national de la Marine
Dieppe Vue du port de Dieppe 1765 165×263 Musée national de la Marine

Notes, citations, and references
Notes
    Citations
    1. 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. Le Port de Marseille, base Joconde, French Ministry of Culture.
    4. La Ville et la Rade de Toulon, base Joconde, French Ministry of Culture.
    5. Vue de Bayonne, prise à mi-côte sur le Glacis de la Citadelle, base Joconde, French Ministry of Culture.
    6. Vue de Bayonne, prise de l'allée de Boufflers près de la porte de Mousserole, base Joconde, French Ministry of Culture.
    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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