Harbor Scene with Rising Sun

Known primarily as a preeminent French Baroque painter, Claude Lorrain also produced over 30 etchings while in Rome during the early years of his career. Though his patrons considered his prints secondary to his paintings, Lorrain saw the two media as individually important. Italian harbors, along with ancient ruins and triumphal prints, were recurring themes in Lorrain’s work. The lyrical and classical elements of his paintings transfer fluidly into his prints. In Harbor Scene with Rising Sun, the artist constructed a romanticized setting where the effects of the morning sun seem to calm the clouds and warm the waters.