The End of the Fishing

Art Historical Context

**The End of the Fishing**ca. 1765) is a captivating engraving from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints collection, acquired through the Harris Brisbane Dick Fund in1953. Created as a collaborative effort by French painter Joseph Vernet, engravers Jacques-Philippe Le Bas and Pietro Antonio Martini, this print captures the quiet drama of a maritime scene. Vernet, renowned for his luminous seascapes, likely provided the original composition, which Le Bas and Martini masterfully translated into the first state of two—a early impression prized by collectors for its crisp lines and rich tonal depth before later alterations. Engraving was a vital reproductive medium in 18th-century Europe, allowing Vernet's evocative depictions of daily life along the French coast to reach a wide audience beyond oil paintings. This technique, involving intricate incisions into copper plates inked and pressed onto paper, highlights the artists' skill in conveying texture—from weathered sails to rippling waves. Measuring a trimmed 11 5/16 × 13 1/16 inches, the sheet's intimate scale invites close viewing, immersing visitors in the fading light of fishermen concluding their labor. Rooted in the Rococo era's fascination with nature and leisure, the work reflects Enlightenment-era romanticism toward the sea, blending realism with poetic atmosphere. A testament to printmaking's golden age, it showcases how Vernet's views of Mediterranean ports influenced European taste for marine art, making this piece a window into 1760s cultural life.

About the Artist

Jacques Philippe Le Bas|Pietro Antonio Martini|Joseph Vernet · 1707–1783

Comment on works: Engraver