Existing comment:
A French Port
by Claude Joseph Vernet, 1758
Through the patronage of a brother of Madame de Pompadour, a favorite of Louis XV, the French King commissioned Vernet to paint scenes showing the ports of France. The official set of port scenes is today in the Musee de la Marine in Paris; but, so popular were the works that Vernet continued to paint similar pictures that can be found in many major collections with the largest number being in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia. This one was given in memory of the Naval Academy Class of 1897 and usually hangs over the mantel in Buchanan House's formal dining room. |