The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of October 3, 2023

A Storm Behind the Isle of Wight

c.179(?)

Julius Caesar Ibbetson

(British, 1759–1817)

England, 18th century

Oil on canvas

Framed: 70 x 85.5 x 5.5 cm (27 9/16 x 33 11/16 x 2 3/16 in.); Unframed: 50.8 x 67.6 cm (20 x 26 5/8 in.)

Bequest of Henry W. Kent 1948.461

Location

not on view

Description

The scene depicts a family's distress upon finding that one of its members has drowned off the rocky shore of the Isle of Wight during a storm. A ship sinks in the wild sea, amid swirling dark clouds and lightning flashes. The artist had visited the Isle of Wight in 1791. Ibbetson began his career by copying Dutch landscape paintings for dealers. He is known to have produced copies and fakes in the style of other masters as well.

Inscriptions

Inscription

Signed lower left: "Julius Ibbetson / [...] / 179[...]"

Provenance
Henry W. Kent.; after his death, held in trust by the estate.
Estate of Henry W. Kent, by bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art. 1948.
Citations
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 471 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 155 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 155 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 194 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Catalogue of Paintings, Part 3: European Paintings of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1982. Mentioned: p. 193-194; Reproduced: p. 194
Exhibition history

Milwawukee, Wisconsin, War Memorial Building (for Children's Arts Program) October 1, 1958-February 15, 1959: "Man's Concept of Outer Space," (no catalogue).

Poughkeepsie, New York, Vassar College Art Gallery, February 20-March 15, 1964: "Nature and Natural Phenomena in Art of the Eighteenth Century," cat. no. 6.

London, Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, December 10, 1968-February 1969: "Bi-Centenary Exhibition (Winter Exhibition),.

Nature and Natural Phenomena in Art of the Eighteenth Century. The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Poughkeepsie, NY (organizer) (February 20-March 15, 1964).

Bicentenary Exhibition, 1768-1968. Royal Academy of Arts, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (organizer) (December 14, 1968-March 2, 1969).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1948.461