Regine Gerhardt (German edition): Anton Melbye und das Seestück im 19. Jahrhundert

Magical pictures of the sea

Celebrated and sought out during his lifetime for his emotionally charged seascapes and ships, Anton Melbye gradually fell into oblivion after his death and has only been rediscovered in recent years. Especially in his paintings of the open sea, which he began working on in 1846, the Danish artist developed his seascapes into a mirror of the soul, of the longings and ambitions of his time. Lacking any sign of people, ships, or coastline for the first time in art history, the shifting surface of the ocean, with its uniformity, impenetrability, and endless space, takes aim at the viewer’s uncertainty, becoming a projection surface for existential reflection. Now, Regine Gerhardt’s new standard reference work on the life and work of this unique painter is at last available.