Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 13 December 1954, lot 317 (as dated 1745);
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 6 April 1955, lot 38 (as dated 1745);
Anonymous sale ("The Property of a Gentleman"), London, Christie's, 6 July 1990, lot 94;
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 8 July 2005, lot 101;
Where acquired by the present owner.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting is in beautiful condition and is very presentable however it is quite dirty and will respond well to cleaning. The retouches that do exist are mostly visible under ultraviolet light or to the naked eye. They are situated in the center of the horizon two inches beneath the moon, in a few spots in the dark clouds in the upper center and in a five inch diagonal line in the center of the right sky. There is another arc shaped restoration in the center of the right edge approximately one inch from the right edge. However, the signature and inscription have been tested and are period to the piece and the details throughout the painting are unabraded and very crisp.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Joseph Vernet spent his early years in Avignon, where his father was a very successfꦯul painter of coach panels and furnishings.  He was establishing himself as an independent painter there, and in nearby Aix en Provence, when, in 1734, the Marquis de Caumont paid for him to go to Italy.  The purpose of the trip was to allow Vernet to broaden his artistic🌠 perspective while at the same time making drawn copies of antiquities for the Marquis. 

Vernet remained in Italy until 1753, and it was during his stay there that he developed the compositional vocabulary and painterly style that were to serve him so well throughout his long career.&nb♉sp; In Rome he established himself as a landscape and marine painter and was popular with the French community there, and well as the Roman nobility and visitors on the Grand Tour.  The great majority of Vernet's paintings were imaginary lan🉐dscapes or coastal views incorporating realistic landmarks and figures suggesting southern Italy.  What made these views remarkable was Vernet's ability to evoke not simply a place and time of day, but a particular atmosphere and mood as well.

A Mediterranean Inlet by Moonlight is a familiar rocky harbor with a&nb🔯sp;truncated tower or lighthouse at the right and cliffs in the background.  The moon is a brilliant half circle, lighting up the rapidly painted clouds and the crests of the waves, and just catching the outstretched leg of the smoker at the left .  There is a fire in the foreground, but it is for cooking not for warmth, and the spectators lounge comfortably on the rocks, watching the night-fishermen at their work. 

Night pieces comprised a significant part of Vernet's oeuvre, whether as independent compositions or parts of series of the Times of Day.  Later artists, such as Joseph Wright of Derby were very much influenced by his compositions, but pushed the genre toward still greater dramatic effects.  Vernet, with his refined brushwork and subtle technique, always maintained the delicate balance between the natural and the theatrical, whether in the early example here, or the later and more monumental Night: A Seaport by Moonlight in the Louvre, Paris of 1765.

Emilie Beck Saiello has confirmed the attribution of the present lot on the basis of photographs and will publish it in t🎃he catalogue raisonné she is completing for the late Philip Conisbee.