Moonlight

De Loutherbourg painted this moonlight scene in 1777, during his early English years when developing his reputation for atmospheric landscape painting. Moonlight subjects connected his work to Dutch tonal tradition while anticipating the Romantic nocturne. De Loutherbourg's theatrical oil technique deployed dramatic chiaroscuro and vivid atmospheric effects—glowing furnace light, moonlight on water, storm-raked sky—that he had developed through his work as a scene designer for David Garrick...

De Loutherbourg renders the moonlit scene with silvery tones and subtle gradations of darkness. The interplay of moonlight on water demonstrates his mastery of nocturnal illumination.