# Rio de Janeiro Bay **Martin Johnson Heade** (1819–1904) 1864 oil on canvas overall: 45.5 x 91.1 cm (17 15/16 x 35 7/8 in.) framed: 70.2 x 115.9 x 12.1 cm (27 5/8 x 45 5/8 x 4 3/4 in.) Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965.2.1. [The museum's record](https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.50281.html). ## About this work Waves of bottle-green water break over boulders on a sandy shore, while sailboats dot the bay and hills curve around it beneath a sky glowing from butter yellow to mint green. Martin Johnson Heade travelled to Brazil in 1863 to paint its hummingbirds for a planned book, and he also recorded the landscape around Rio de Janeiro. The meticulous detail, the luminous sky and the stillness of the distant boats show the clear, contemplative light that unites his work, whether marsh, coast or tropical shore. He signed and dated it in 1864. _Written by Ochre Editions._ Martin Johnson Heade painted this in 1864, aged 45. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. ### What you’re looking at Across a short stretch of sand in front of us, waves of bottle-green water break over two boulders on the shoreline, with sailboats in the water beyond, in this wide, horizontal painting. One boulder is at the left edge of the painting; the other is a short distance away, about a quarter of the way across. The water cascades down between those large rocks. Across the rest of the beach, the waves flare up to break toward us in white, foamy surf. The land curves back into view on both sides of the canvas with muted, sage-green hills and, to our left, dark green trees on more craggy boulders. A more distant finger of land to our left stretches nearly halfway across the horizon, which comes about halfway up the composition. Minuscule in scale there, smoke pours out of a chimney, which is surrounded by pale yellow buildings. A mound emerges from the horizon to our right of center. About ten sailboats float on the water. The closest one to us is near the center of the painting, and the tiny forms of people aboard can just barely be made out. The other boats become smaller as they move back to the horizon, and some are only a touch of white or gray on the canvas. White and pale lavender-purple clouds sweep up from the horizon into the sky, which glows butter yellow along the left edge. The sky cools to mint green in the upper right corner. Several white or brown birds fly across the sky or low over the water. The artist signed and dated the lower left, “M. J. Heade 1864.” _Description from the National Gallery of Art._ ### How it was made - **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled. ### [Martin Johnson Heade](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/martin-johnson-heade) 1819–1904 Heade travelled restlessly and worked in many genres, but is best known for three subjects: the salt marshes of New England and New Jersey, with haystacks under changing skies; hummingbirds and orchids, which he studied on journeys to Brazil and Central America; and, in later years, lush still lifes of magnolias and other flowers, painted after he settled in St Augustine, Florida. Approaching Thunder Storm is an early example of his brooding coastal scenes. _Written by Ochre Editions._ ## Facts - Type: Painting - The artist was 45 - Real size: about 18 × 36 in (46 × 91 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 20 × 30 in, so every print is a reduction. - Century: 19th century - Subjects: Coast, Rio de Janeiro Bay, Brazil - Colour: ochre - Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose. ## Get it - Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1531.jpg?dl=1 - Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1531/1920.jpg - Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86 - Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208 - Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118 - Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5 Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/rio-de-janeiro-bay-nga-50281).