According to Yitzy Rosengarten, an American landscape painter, the sea has been a great source of inspiration for many artists throughout history, but where some have seen reasons for peace and tranquility, others have captured how violent and deadly it can be. At a time when many were engaged in maritime trade, the sea was portrayed as a place of care and a changing temperament, the paintings were a reflection of the fear of going out to sea and never returning, most of the paintings showed storms and boats being destroyed or fighting with the impossible waves that the sea gave.

“One might wonder, why would anyone want a painting that represents something so horrible? The answer lies in the victory over the sea, and that glory is something that everyone wanted in the room to be contemplated by their guests,” says Yitzy Rosengarten.

Yitzy Rosengarten indicates that by the end of the 19th century, the creation of new pigments gave artists the opportunity to leave their studios and paint in the open air. This, among other factors, gives rise to the arrival of impressionism, characterized by the attempt to capture light and the moment; the stories of shipwrecks and storms are left behind, and the artists paint what they see and feel in the moment, with a softer color palette and a technique without sharp lines. This new era brings us works of seascapes with concepts of peace and sobriety.

In this podcast, Yitzy Rosengarten will share more about the seascape in art.