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CHARLES-FRANÇOIS GRENIER DE LACROIX, DIT LACROIX DE MARSEILLE , MARSEILLE, 1700 - BERLIN, 1782 Fishermen at Sunrise A Storm Oil on canvas (a pair) 48.7 x 64.7 cm These two counterpart canvases allow us to imagine a story, that of a crossing of the seas begun serenely but soon encountering a storm. In the left-hand canvas, in fact, the serene sky is not disturbed by any breeze, so much so that the sails had to be lowered. On the right, on the other hand, the sea is raging, the wind is blowing, and the boat is being manhandled as it approaches the coastal reefs. It is precisely in the search for these contrasts and by introducing a temporality into the reading of his panels that Lacroix de Marseille made a reputation for his seascapes, designed in pairs. The picturesque rubs shoulders with the sublime, the taste for a romantic landscape unfolds, declining the whole range of feelings, from quietude to terror. A great colourist, Lacroix de Marseille also found a pretext for painting skies full of nuances evoking the different hours of the day as well as the vagaries of the climate. Here, the spirit of 'caprice' presides through the invention of an imaginary place in the spirit of his elder Claude Lorrain (1600-1682) or later his contemporary Hubert Robert (1733-1808). Lacroix de Marseille (1700-82) was a French landscape painter who settled in Rome, from 1750 to 1763, where he discovered both Antiquity and the landscape painting inherited from the previous century. Indeed, Le Lorrain and also Poussin had initiated this genre in which ancient architecture abounds, quoted or revisited. However, with Lacroix de Marseille, no majestic ports with rigorous perspectives but a predilection for the picturesque and for a wilder nature. He developed a style under the influence of Claude-Joseph Vernet, whom he met during his stay in Rome in 1751, and from whom he learned to paint seascapes. Vernet, who had just been commissioned by the king to paint his famous series of 'Ports de France', sought accuracy, while Lacroix preferred a more poetic vision. In his enchanted vision of the world, the characters move with naturalness. His painting, highly prized by 18th century enthusiasts and which he declined over and over again by varying its nocturnal or morning, calm or stormy effects, can be found today in the greatest private and public collections. Provenance: Private collection Certificate: René Millet Signatur: The first dated and signed lower left 'Lacroix/1762'; The second dated and signed lower right 'Lacroix/Roma 1762'