Joseph VERNET L'Entree de la Ports de Marseille beautifully Hand Colored Engraving

Published in 1760

Condition as pictured

Very Rare

30 1/2 X 20 in

EXTREMELY FINE Engraving FROM THE CELEBRATED SERIES OF PAINTINGS. Vernet was commissioned by Louis XV in 1753 to paint fifteen views of the main ports of France, and given the exceptional title of "peintre des marines de sa majesté". He spent twelve years travelling around the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Channel coasts with his family and servants in tow. The country was at war with England at the time, and Louis specifically requested that the artist show off the economic activities and maritime strength of France, which Vernet did to much acclaim. The majority of the paintings are in the Musée de la Marine in Paris.