Eighteenth-century English painter, Three-masted sailing ship, late eighteenth century H 57x78 cm Oil painting on canvas In dark waters shaken by the wind and partially illuminated by a faint light from the sky, the romantic marine scene shows a three-masted sailing ship on which the Australian flag flies, hit by a wave caused by a storm in progress. The light source reveals the conclusion of the difficult time the ship is undergoing, for the sea is indeed rough but the waters will quieter shortly thanks to the bright glimpse that signals the change in the weather: the rain has ceased and the blue-violet hues are about to be replaced by the brightening tones of blue. The sailing ship also points straight toward a destination already sighted, the harbor of a volcanic island with a kind of fortification perched on a hill, largely concealed by the focus of the entire composition, the sailing ship. The painting, which can be placed in the last years of the 18th century, anticipates the scenic seascapes of Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (1817-1900). ASORstudio