Sky & Celestial
Skies and Celestial Details in Art
Clouds at golden hour, a sliver of moon, stars scattered over a night scene — the sky is where painters set the mood of an entire canvas. This gallery isolates those passages of air and light, from luminous dawns to brooding storms. Click any detail to see the full work.
24 details · cropped from original museum images
vast cloudy sky
Gustave Courbet · The Calm Sea
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
full moon
Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (Hovhannes Aivazian) · Ship by Moonlight
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
vast cloudy sky
Eugène Boudin · Village by a River
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
vast sky at sunset
Sanford Robinson Gifford (American, 1823–1880) · Mist Rising at Sunset in the Catskills
Art Institute of Chicago
rising moon or setting sun
James McNeill Whistler (American, 1834–1903) · Nocturne: Blue and Gold—Southampton Water
Art Institute of Chicago
stormy sky
In the style of John Constable (English, 1776–1837) · Hampstead, Stormy Sky
Art Institute of Chicago
vast cloudy sky
Jan van Goyen · River View with a Village Church
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
vast cloudy sky
Aelbert Cuyp (Dutch, 1621–1691) · A View of Vianen with a Herdsman and Cattle by a River
Art Institute of Chicago
crescent moon
Caspar David Friedrich · Two Men Contemplating the Moon
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
large rainbow
William Turner · An April Shower: A View from Binsey Ferry Near Oxford, Looking Towards Port Meadow and Godstow
Art Institute of Chicago
rising moon (or setting sun)
George Inness (American, 1825–1894) · Moonrise
Art Institute of Chicago
vast atmosphere and sky
Eugène Boudin · On the Beach at Trouville
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
vast dramatic sky
Philips Koninck · A Panoramic Landscape with a Country Estate
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
vast sky with dramatic clouds
Philips Koninck · Wide River Landscape
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
dramatic storm sky
Georges Michel (French, 1763-1843) · The Storm
Art Institute of Chicago
dramatic stormy sky
George Inness (American, 1825–1894) · The Storm
Art Institute of Chicago
massive towering cumulus cloud
Arkhyp Kuindzhi (Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi) · Red Sunset
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
sunset sky
George Inness (American, 1825–1894) · Landscape, Sunset
Art Institute of Chicago
sunset glow
Thomas Cole (American, born England, 1801–1848) · New England Scenery
Art Institute of Chicago
dramatic sky and clouds
David Lucas (English, 1802-1881) · River Stour, Suffolk
Art Institute of Chicago
heavy sky with approaching storm
Eugène-Louis Boudin (French, 1824–1898) · Approaching Storm
Art Institute of Chicago
massive central cumulus cloud
Jan van Goyen (Dutch, 1596–1656) · Fishing Boats off an Estuary
Art Institute of Chicago
misty morning sky
Claude Joseph Vernet (French, 1714–1789) · Morning
Art Institute of Chicago
bright vanishing point at the end of the avenue
Vincent van Gogh · Avenue of Pollard Birches and Poplars
Art Institute of Chicago
Go deeper
Closer looks and hidden meanings within sky & celestial.