A Shipwreck in a Storm
1782
Medium
Pastel on gessoed canvas
Dimensions
24 3/4 x 36 in. (62.9 x 91.4 cm)
Classification
Pastels & Oil Sketches on Paper
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Martin Birnbaum, 1956
Accession Number
56.7
Tags
Art Historical Context
Jean Pillement's *A Shipwreck in a* (1782) captures the raw fury of nature in a dramatic seascape, showcasing the French Rococo artist's mastery of atmospheric effects. Created late in Pillement's career, when Rococo exuberance was giving way to more emotive landscapes, this work depicts a beleaguered ship tossed amid towering waves, with men and women desperately clinging to survival. Pillement, renowned for his picturesque scenes and decorative finesse across Europe—from Versailles to Polish palaces—infused his compositions with a sense of sublime peril, echoing 17th-century Dutch marine tra...