Claude-Joseph Vernet Biography

Claude-Joseph Vernet (1714-1789), French painter of marine scenes and landscapes. Vernet was born in Avignon and studied in Italy. He became one of the leading landscape artists of his time. Commissioned by Louis XV, he painted a series of 15 paintings between 1754 and 1765 that depicted the major French seaports. The series, Ports of France, is now at the Louvre in Paris. His large canvases were bought for the ornamentation of palaces and are to be found today in the leading European museums, especially in Russia. Vernet was the father of Carle Vernet and grandfather of Horace Vernet, who were also painters.