Seascape Paintings

Seascape is highly expressive and comes in a variety of forms, from prismatic Impressionist scenes to dark, storm-and-thunder Romantic fare.

The German Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich painted at the height of moody Romantic expression, which might involve lone figures at the center of the picture with explosions of sea foam, dramatic lighting effects, and swirling clouds in the background.

Joseph Mallord William Turner was another master of the seascape. In paintings such as "Sunrise with Sea Monsters" (c. 1845), Turner reduces the complex lighting effects of a clouded golden sunset sky into simple painterly gestures.

The French Impressionists brought their ocular experiment to the seascape; the play of light in the sky and water was perfect for them. Paul Signac and Claude Monet were exemplars of the Impressionist seascape. Signac, in particular, broke the light into large, at times rectangular brushstrokes that formed solid colors when viewed from a distance.

Quick Facts

• Monet’s famous seascape painting, "Impression Sunrise," 1872, provided the name for the entire artistic movement
• Seascape goes Pop: On July 1, 2015, Christie’s London sold Roy Lichtenstein, "Seascape," 1965, for £104,500
• American painter Winslow Homer was a master of the seascape. Homer’s dramatic seaside pictures have are inspired by, if not always faithful to, the scenery there