Claude-Joseph Vernet, a native of Avignon, went to Rome in 1734 and over the next decade established himself in Italy as a painter of real and imaginary landscapes based on the local countryside and seacoast. In this painting, the artist depicts an idealized Mediterranean seaport, rather than a specific location, and uses a variety of features from the region. The lighthouse is actually in Naples; the Arch of Constantine is in Rome and the lateen-rigged ship on the right is a type common to the eastern Mediterranean. The large warship fires a salute and the nearby ships fly the Dutch flag, indicating that the painting may have been commissioned by a Dutch client.