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Claude Joseph
Vernet, The Shipwreck, 1772, National Gallery of Art, Washington,
Patrons' Permanent Fund and Chester Dale Fund 2000.22.1 |
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Through
his use of strong diagonals, Vernet creates a vortex of motion in the lower
half of the painting. He points the ship’s mast straight at the broken
tree; from the tree, he leads the eye through the breaking wave down
the cliff to the woman lying on the beach, and then circles back
up along the rope line to the crow’s nest. The diagonal lightning
bolt points directly to the center of action. This circular composition
sets the boat, the water, and the sky into rolling, turbulent motion. Only
the castle stands strong against the storm.
 
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