Joseph Vernet, also known as Claude-Joseph Vernet (1714–1789), was a renowned French landscape and marine painter. Born in Avignon, France, he trained under his father Antoine Vernet and the history painter Philippe Sauvan. Vernet spent many years in Rome (1734–1753), studying classical landscapes and maritime scenes influenced by artists such as Claude Lorrain and Salvator Rosa.
He gained fame for his atmospheric and detailed paintings of seaports, storms, moonlights, and shipwrecks. In 1753, King Louis XV commissioned him to paint a series of 15 large canvases depicting the ports of France, a project that took over a decade and is now housed in the Louvre and the Musée National de la Marine. Vernet’s work is celebrated for its dramatic use of light, lifelike figures, and accurate topographical detail. He was a member of the French Royal Academy and influenced generations of artists, including his son Carle Vernet.
