End of the 18th - 19th century · The sublime between wave, wind and light

Fragile ships, dark cliffs, lightning and foam give the romantic sea a power that surpasses man and releases color.

In the Romantic era, the navy ceased to be only the precise portrait of a ship or the calm survey of a port. It becomes the theater of the sublime: a beauty mixed with vertigo, born when nature seems immense, uncontrollable and yet fascinating. Storms, shipwrecks, fogs and nocturnal ribs place human beings before forces beyond them. Joseph Mallord William Turner pushes this research to the point of almost dissolving forms in light, rain and foam; nearly a third of his preserved paintings are seascapes. Theodore Géricault pushes this research to the point of almost dissolving forms in light, rain and foam; nearly a third of his preserved paintings are seascapes. Theodore Géricault pushes this research to the point of almost dissolving forms in light, rain and foam; nearly a third of his preserved paintings are seascapes. Theodore Géricault pushes this research to the point of almost dissolving forms in light, rain and foam; nearly a third of his preserved paintings are seascapes. Theodore Géricault pushes this research to the point of almost dissolving forms in light, rain and foam; nearly a third of his preserved paintings are seascapes. Theodore Géric translucent around tiny silhouettes, while Caspar David Friedrich transforms the coast and the sea of ice into meditations on solitude. Eugène Isabey, Gudin and Vernet connect maritime observation to the dramaturgy of the sky. From one artist to another, the horizon tilts, the boat becomes a measure of human fragility and the touch is freed to render a phenomenon more than an object. From one artist to another, the horizon tilts, the boat becomes a measure of human fragility and the touch is freed to render a phenomenon more than an object. The romantic navy thus prepares certain daring of impressionism and abstraction and the touch is freed to render a phenomenon more than an object. The romantic navy thus prepares certain daring of impressionism and abstraction. The romantic navy thus prepares certain daring of impressionism and abstraction. The "Marines and Romantic Storms" selection notably compares Regina Martyrum and The Miracle of Saint Anthony of Padua. Its reading favors light.

In the romantic storm, the ship is no longer the hero: it becomes the tiny ladder that reveals the immensity of the sea.