Claude Joseph Vernet was a French painter known for his Mediterranean harbor scenes replete with boats, antique architecture, and tempestuous weather conditions. Vernet’s use of light, harmonious balance of pictorial elements, and picturesque subject matter reveal his close study of the works of the French painter Claude Lorrain. The Waterfalls at Tivoli, A Storm on a Mediterranean Coast, and Mountain Landscape with an Approaching Storm exemplify Vernet’s interest in romantic, dramatic landscape. Born on August 14, 1714 in Avignon, France, the artist trained with his father, a painter, and Philippe Sauvan, a history painter. When Vernet was 20, he set off for Rome to study classical landscapes and ancient ruins under a follower of Salvator ...