Stormy Weather on Canvas

The Storm on the Sea of Galilee 1633 Rembrandt Van Rijn

Dutch artist Rembrandt was known as one of the most famous painters during the Baroque movement in the 17th and early 18th century in Europe. This was the period known as the Dutch Golden Age. This painting is one of the most famous storm paintings ever created. The artwork portrays the famous Biblical story in which Jesus calmed a raging sea by speaking to the sky. It is the only maritime artwork done by Rembrandt.

Snow Storm: Steamboat off a Harbor’s Mouth 1812 J.M.W. Turner

English artist Joseph Mallord William Turner was a prominent artist in the early 19th century. He created many artworks that depicted changing weather. He created many paintings depicting snow storms on both land and sea. He created this painting after a major storm while he was aboard a steamship.

The Slave Ship 1840 J.M.W. Turner

English artist J.M.W. Turner created this artwork and it became one of the most highly-praised maritime paintings from the Romantic Movement. The painting depicts churning waves upon a stormy sea with a large slave ship in the background.

A First Rate Man-o-War Driven Onto a Reef of Rocks, Floundering in a Gale George Philip Reinagle

English maritime artist George Philip Reinagle created this artwork depicting a ship that is surrounded by a raging sea. He was able to depict the crushing force of the waves along with sea spray blown high by winds.

The Green Wave 1867 Claude Monet

French artist Claude Monet was considered to be one of the best painters during the Impressionist Movement. This artwork depicts a vessel being crested by a huge greenish wave. As the vessel fights to stay afloat a larger sailing vessel can be seen in the background.

Tiger in a Tropical Storm 1891 Henri Rousseau

French artist Henri Rousseau was known for his paintings depicting exotic animals. In this painting, he depicts a tiger during a tropical storm showing the effects of wind on the leaves and foliage against a gray sky. In the painting, you can see the tiger fighting his way through the jungle with the wind blowing about him.

The Storm Pierre Auguste Cot

French artist Pierre Auguste Cot was among the most famous French painters of the 19th century. This painting depicts two young lovers running for cover from a fast-approaching storm. They are both clutching a billowing drapery and their other arms are wrapped around each other.

The Ninth Wave Ivan Aivazovsky

Russian artist Ivan Aivazovsky was among the greatest maritime painters during the 19th century. The painting depicts a few sailors clinging to a small piece of debris from a large ship and shows the effects of a devastating storm at sea. The artwork appears to depict the desperation of the sailors lost at sea.

American Artists

Northeaster 1895 Winslow Homer

American landscape artist Winslow Homer was among the most celebrated Realism painters in the late 19th century. He was known for his maritime scenes depicting fishermen or sailors from small fishing towns along the New England coastline in the US. Among his most famous paintings is this artwork which depicts a large wave crashing against a rocky shore.

Lost on the Grand Banks 1885 Winslow Homer

American landscape artist Winslow Homer created another iconic artwork depicting fishermen along the New England coastline. The painting depicts two fishermen in a small vessel trying to stay afloat surrounded by massive waves.

A Storm in the Rocky Mountains, Mt. Rosalie Albert Bierstadt

German-American artist Albert Bierstadt was among the most well-known American landscape painters during the 19th century. As a land surveyor for the US Government, he got to travel the country. This artwork is one of his most notable paintings depicting a storm in the Rocky Mountains. A part of the mountain landscape it illuminated by sunshine while a dark raincloud hovers in the background and a snowy peak towers above the clouds.