Storms on the Coast 1830 - 1860

Johannes Tavenraat’s “Storms on the Coast” (1830-1860) depicts a dramatic scene of a storm raging against a rocky coastline. The painting, now housed in the Rijksmuseum, utilizes loose, expressive brushstrokes to capture the turbulent movement of the waves and the heavy, dark clouds overhead. Tavenraat’s focus on the natural world and the dynamic forces of nature is characteristic of the Romanticism movement popular in 19th-century art. The small size of the painting, measuring 27.9 cm high and 34.8 cm wide, further emphasizes the power of the storm, as if the viewer is caught in the midst of its fury.