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Figures on Rocks at the Edge of the Sea

Date

1867

Creator

Jehan Georges Vibert

Location

Raclin Murphy Museum of Art

Occasionally, Vibert painted scenes with different themes related to his own life, including this semi-autobiographical view of the coastline at Etretat. On a rocky outcropping jutting out toward the English Channel, a group of onlookers is mesmerized by the power and dominance of nature. The figures at the tip of the ledge peer over to survey the waves crashing below. Above them, to the right, another cluster of observers watch more cautiously, some huddling under umbrellas for protection from the sea foam; one male figure in this party stands particularly upright, as if entranced by the action of the waves. To the far right are two more figures, one of them a frightened young woman who looks as if she wants to escape from the turbulence below. Vibert included himself and the Spanish painter Eduardo Zamacois y Zabala (ca. 1841-1871) in the composition, apparently leading a group of friends on an excursion at Etretat: the man seated at the promontory edge wears an informal cap like the one Vibert often wore. from Weisberg, Breaking the Mold: The Legacy of the Noah L. and Muriel S. Butkin Collection of Nineteenth-Century French Art (Notre Dame, 2012)

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Occasionally, Vibert painted scenes with different themes related to his own life, including this semi-autobiographical view of the coastline at Etretat. On a rocky outcropping jutting out toward the English Channel, a group of onlookers is mesmerized by the power and dominance of nature. The figures at the tip of the ledge peer over to survey the waves crashing below. Above them, to the right, another cluster of observers watch more cautiously, some huddling under umbrellas for protection from the sea foam; one male figure in this party stands particularly upright, as if entranced by the action of the waves. To the far right are two more figures, one of them a frightened young woman who looks as if she wants to escape from the turbulence below. Vibert included himself and the Spanish painter Eduardo Zamacois y Zabala (ca. 1841-1871) in the composition, apparently leading a group of friends on an excursion at Etretat: the man seated at the promontory edge wears an informal cap like the one Vibert often wore. from Weisberg, Breaking the Mold: The Legacy of the Noah L. and Muriel S. Butkin Collection of Nineteenth-Century French Art (Notre Dame, 2012)
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  • Occasionally, Vibert painted scenes with different themes related to his own life, including this semi-autobiographical view of the coastline at Etretat. On a rocky outcropping jutting out toward the English Channel, a group of onlookers is mesmerized by the power and dominance of nature. The figures at the tip of the ledge peer over to survey the waves crashing below. Above them, to the right, another cluster of observers watch more cautiously, some huddling under umbrellas for protection from the sea foam; one male figure in this party stands particularly upright, as if entranced by the action of the waves. To the far right are two more figures, one of them a frightened young woman who looks as if she wants to escape from the turbulence below. Vibert included himself and the Spanish painter Eduardo Zamacois y Zabala (ca. 1841-1871) in the composition, apparently leading a group of friends on an excursion at Etretat: the man seated at the promontory edge wears an informal cap like the one Vibert often wore. from Weisberg, Breaking the Mold: The Legacy of the Noah L. and Muriel S. Butkin Collection of Nineteenth-Century French Art (Notre Dame, 2012)
  • Occasionally, Vibert painted scenes with different themes related to his own life, including this semi-autobiographical view of the coastline at Etretat. On a rocky outcropping jutting out toward the English Channel, a group of onlookers is mesmerized by the power and dominance of nature. The figures at the tip of the ledge peer over to survey the waves crashing below. Above them, to the right, another cluster of observers watch more cautiously, some huddling under umbrellas for protection from the sea foam; one male figure in this party stands particularly upright, as if entranced by the action of the waves. To the far right are two more figures, one of them a frightened young woman who looks as if she wants to escape from the turbulence below. Vibert included himself and the Spanish painter Eduardo Zamacois y Zabala (ca. 1841-1871) in the composition, apparently leading a group of friends on an excursion at Etretat: the man seated at the promontory edge wears an informal cap like the one Vibert often wore. from Weisberg, Breaking the Mold: The Legacy of the Noah L. and Muriel S. Butkin Collection of Nineteenth-Century French Art (Notre Dame, 2012)
  • Occasionally, Vibert painted scenes with different themes related to his own life, including this semi-autobiographical view of the coastline at Etretat. On a rocky outcropping jutting out toward the English Channel, a group of onlookers is mesmerized by the power and dominance of nature. The figures at the tip of the ledge peer over to survey the waves crashing below. Above them, to the right, another cluster of observers watch more cautiously, some huddling under umbrellas for protection from the sea foam; one male figure in this party stands particularly upright, as if entranced by the action of the waves. To the far right are two more figures, one of them a frightened young woman who looks as if she wants to escape from the turbulence below. Vibert included himself and the Spanish painter Eduardo Zamacois y Zabala (ca. 1841-1871) in the composition, apparently leading a group of friends on an excursion at Etretat: the man seated at the promontory edge wears an informal cap like the one Vibert often wore. from Weisberg, Breaking the Mold: The Legacy of the Noah L. and Muriel S. Butkin Collection of Nineteenth-Century French Art (Notre Dame, 2012)
Jehan Georges Vibert (French, 1840 - 1902)
1867
Paintings
Oil on canvas
2009.045.110
coastlines
waves
Not on view, please request access
23 7/8 x 37 3/4 in. (60.64 x 95.89 cm)
The Muriel S. and Noah L. Butkin Collection

Our collection information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. If you have spotted an error, please contact Raclin Murphy Museum of Art at RMMACollections@nd.edu.