Claude-Joseph Vernet (adopted) (1714-1789), Morning (View of the harbor at morning dawn), 1774

Biography
In the 18th century, Claude-Joseph Vernet's works were highly valued, and were readily purchased from the artist himself or through agents. This painting comes from the collection of King Stanislaw August Poniatowski, whose international fame of Vernet prompted him to purchase several works by the artist.

Vernet depicted nature in all its richness and diversity: from the quiet of the morning, through storms and heavy rains in the afternoon, to picturesque sunsets. To the cycles of changing nature and passing time, the artist subordinated the lives of fishermen and villagers, clam fishermen and adventurous sailors arriving at the picturesque ports of the Levant. The artist repeated or reinterpreted his landscapes, processed familiar motifs, juxtaposing them on his canvases with often fictional buildings. Vernet's works are sentimental, atmospheric interpretations of the beauty and richness of nature. A peculiar note of nostalgia can also be seen in the artist's works, his ports often appear as a lost Arcadia, a refugia of peace and security, an expression of man's dream of a land of eternal happiness.

A pendant to this painting, titled View of a Port at Night, also from the Stanislaus Augustus collection, was lost during World War II.