Copenhagen Harbor by Moonlight
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
37 3/4 x 60 5/8 in. (95.9 x 154 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Christen Sveaas, in celebration of the Museum's 150th Anniversary, 2019
Accession Number
2019.167.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
Johan Christian Dahl's *Copenhagen Harbor by Moonlight* (1846) invites viewers into a serene nocturnal seascape, where the silvery glow of the moon bathes Copenhagen's bustling harbor in ethereal light. This large-scale oil on canvas (37 3/4 x 60 5/8 in.) captures boats gently rocking on calm waters, silhouetted against a vast, starry sky—a quintessential Romantic vision emphasizing nature's sublime power and quiet mystery. Dahl, a pioneering Norwegian landscape painter active in the early 19th century, masterfully renders the interplay of light and shadow, drawing the eye from the luminous mo...