Harbor with large tower at left, and figures in the foreground
ca. 1635–40
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
sheet: 5 3/16 x 7 11/16 in. (13.2 x 19.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Phyllis Massar, 2011
Accession Number
2012.136.267
Tags
Art Historical Context
Claude Lorrain's etching *Harbor with large tower left, and figures in foreground*, created around 1635–40, captures the artist's signature vision of an idealized seascape. In this intimate 5 3/16 x 7 11/16-inch sheet, a majestic tower rises prominently on the left, framing a bustling harbor alive with ships and foreground figures—likely sailors or travelers—evoking the timeless romance of Mediterranean ports. Lorrain, a French Baroque master based in Rome, drew inspiration from classical antiquity and the Italian coastline, infusing his works with golden light and atmospheric depth. As one o...
About the Artist
Claude Lorrain (Claude Gellée) · 1604–1682
Claude Gellée was born around 1600 in the village of Chamagne in the Duchy of Lorraine, from which he would take the professional name by which history knows him: Claude Lorrain. Orphaned young, he traveled south to Rome as a teenager, eventually finding his way into the Naples workshop of Goffredo Wals before apprenticing with the Roman landscapist and fresco painter Agostino Tassi around 1622. F...