''The Aegean Sea'' is a c. 1877 oil painting by American artist Frederic Edwin Church, and one of his last large-scale paintings.

Description

The painting measures . It is a capriccio inspired by Church's travels to Europe and the Middle East from 1867 to 1869. The composite image includes elements from sketches that Church made in different locations, including a rock-cut entrance from Petra in a cliff to the left, fallen capitals from the

Temple of Bacchus The Temple of Bacchus is part of the Baalbek temple complex located in the broad Al-biqā (Bekaa Valley), Lebanon. The temple complex is considered an outstanding archaeological and artistic site of Imperial Roman Architecture and was inscribed a ...

at Baalbek in the lower left, Roman columns from Syria to the right, and in the distance across a body of water lie classical ruins that resemble the

Acropolis of Athens The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. Th ...

or the in Ancient Corinth, and the dome and minaret of a mosque from

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. In the foreground are three small human figures in conversation beside a road based on an oil study of three Bedouins. The cloudy sky is enlivened by a

double rainbow Double Rainbow may refer to: * Double rainbow, a variation of the meteorological phenomenon * Double Rainbow (ice cream), a brand of premium ice cream, sorbets, and frozen desserts Media * ''Double Rainbow'' (album), Aya Matsuura's sixth album ...

. In this work, Church moved away from his usual naturalistic style to a more idealised style. The atmospheric effects that may be inspired by the paintings of J. M. W. Turner which Church had seen in London (although Church had already used a double rainbow in his 1866 painting ''Rainy Season in the Tropics''). The work may also take inspiration from Turner's 1826 view of the Roman Forum. Church designed a gilded frame for the painting, decorated with an eclectic mixture of Middle Eastern motifs, including stars and rosettes, and

egg-and-dart Egg-and-dart, also known as egg-and-tongue, egg-and-anchor, or egg-and-star, is an ornamental device adorning the fundamental quarter-round, convex ovolo profile of moulding, consisting of alternating details on the face of the ovolo—typicall ...

and other moldings.

History

The painting was bought by the railway tycoon William H. Osborn, a close friend and supporter of Church, and bequeathed to the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

on the death of his wife Virginia Reed (Sturges) Osborn in 1902.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aegean Sea 1877 paintings Aegean Sea Maritime paintings Paintings by Frederic Edwin Church Paintings in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Ships in art