Coastal scene with larger rocks 1862

Anton Melbye, born in Denmark in 1818, painted this coastal scene with oil. Melbye was at the center of a specific cultural moment. A moment, when the sea held a particular romantic and perilous power. As a maritime painter, Melbye was working within the established traditions of landscape painting, yet his experience as a sailor allowed him to develop his own alternative narrative. Note how the rocks dominate the scene, their large mass, their weight. It is as if Melbye is pushing back on the sea, using the rocks to create a personal space in the face of the sublime. We can imagine the artist standing on a shore similar to this one, as he faces the vastness of the sea, just as we face the painting. He has fixed the scene on his canvas, thereby capturing both the strength and the vulnerability of his own position.