Claude-Joseph Vernet was one of the most famous landscape and marine painters in Europe during the second half of the eighteenth century. In this painting, “The Shipwreck,” Vernet depicts a stormy seascape, one of his favorite subjects. Shipwrecks were a real hazard of travel in the eighteenth century, much like the automobile or airplane crashes of today. Vernet’s lively brushwork adds to the drama of this scene, especially the dark sky and sea painted in shades of green and blue. On view in the West Building, Gallery 52. http://www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=111194 ----- Find the Children's Video Tour at http://www.nga.gov/education/timetravel/index.shtm