10 Stunning Sunset Paintings to See Before the Night Falls

It is no wonder that so many artists are inspired to capture the essence of sunsets in their works. The alluring nature of sunsets especially caught the interest of 19th-century Romantics, but the appeal extends far beyond them. Artists throughout history and across the globe have been inspired by sunsets, finding them romantic, mystical, uplifting, and even hopeful.

1. Thought-Provoking Sunset

Caspar David Friedrich was a leading painter of German Romanticism. His works radiate a mystical, almost spiritual atmosphere. Though primarily a landscape artist, his works are far more than simple depictions of nature. Friedrich aimed to evoke the sublime and spark deep reflection about life. A recurring element in his landscapes is a figure facing the scenery, admiring it just as the viewer does. This invites us to step into the scene ourselves. Friedrich’s paintings encourage us to pause and contemplate nature.

2. Romantic Sunset Ahead of Its Time

Although J.M.W. Turner was a Romantic painter, his unique style inspired the succeeding Impressionists. We see Turner’s impressionistic tendencies in his watercolor sketches, especially those from the later years of his career. The Scarlet Sunset: A French Town on a River often draws comparisons to Monet’s famous Impression, Sunrise—a painting that sparked the rise of the Impressionist movement 30 years later.

Turner began his career working for various architects, where precision and accuracy held great importance. Over time, however, his style evolved, and he placed less emphasis on detail. Instead, he prioritized color and the emotions it could evoke. This sunset is a prime example of his color studies. The intense red of the sky reflected in the water captivates the viewer’s eye. The color makes the painting interesting without much need for realism.

3. Sunset After the Sunrise

Claude Monet is known for his Impression, Sunrise, but not many know of his sunset.

Monet was a French artist whose style deviated from the prevailing academic traditions of his time. Along with other Paris-based artists, he wanted to make art less strict. They aimed to focus on conveying emotions rather than realism and detail. The Impressionists chose to exhibit their works independently from the Salon.

Monet’s Impression, Sunrise is where the name of the movement comes from. Yet not many know that eight years later, he painted an equally captivating Sunset on the Seine at Lavacourt. Due to financial struggles in his later years, he planned to exhibit at the Salon again. He painted this sunset as a Lavacourt landscape series, hoping to show it there. Unfortunately, the Salon rejected this piece, considering it too experimental for the times.

4. Van Gogh’s First Success

At the beginning of his career, Van Gogh painted with a very limited palette. It consisted mostly of dark, earthy tones like browns and grays. In Paris, he encountered the French avant-garde, which had a profound and lasting impact on his style. Inspired by the Impressionists, his palette grew brighter. He also adopted pointillism, while modifying it to his own unique style. Instead of dots of unmixed paint, he used the short brushstrokes that we know him for today.

In 1888, he moved to Arles in hopes of creating an artists’ commune. This turned out to be the most prolific time of his artistic career. There, he painted the vast majority of his works, including this stunning painting depicting vineyard workers harvesting under the setting sun. The Red Vineyard was the only painting Van Gogh sold in his lifetime.

5. Sunny California Evening

Impressionism was not the only art movement inspired by the Romantics. In the newly liberated United States, the Hudson River School emerged. These artists aimed to record the beauty of untouched American landscapes. Albert Bierstadt, a German-born American, belonged to the Hudson River School’s second generation of artists. He joined several expeditions during the Westward Expansion and had the opportunity to be one of the first artists to capture the beautiful landscapes of the American West. His depiction of Yosemite Valley is one for which he became renowned.

6. Luminous Sunset over the Ocean

A misty sky and tranquil water, illuminated by the soft colors of the sunset—that is the essence of Luminism, an artistic movement that emerged from the Hudson River School. The term refers to the emphasis on light and its effect on the artwork’s mood. One of Luminism’s leading artists was Fitz Henry Lane, whose favorite subject to paint was the sea. Growing up in the port city of Gloucester, Massachusetts, his interest in marine life began early. He started his career as a sailmaker and later took lessons in lithography. This allowed him to hone his artistic skills under the supervision of the best marine artists. Lithography’s effect on Lane’s style is noticeable in his attention to even the smallest detail.

7. Old Master’s Pioneering Sunset

During the Baroque period, religious and historical themes dominated art. Claude Lorrain, however, chose landscapes instead. This French artist traveled to Italy as a cook and began working for landscape painter Agostino Tassi. Coming from a small village, Lorain had no formal training in the arts. His natural talent developed with guidance from Tassi, and he became a highly renowned Baroque landscapist. Although the genre itself was nothing new, Lorrain did what others had not tried. He was among the first to include the sun in his scenes. He carefully studied light and observed how it reflected on the structures around it. This made his works unique and later inspired great artists such as J. M. W. Turner.

8. Comforting Sunset After a Tiring Day

While Romanticism inspired some artists like the Impressionists, it did the opposite for others. Realism began in France as a response to the dominating Romantic movement. These artists rejected the dreamy world presented in Romantic works in favor of “real life.” Genre painting was on the rise, and artists wanted to depict ordinary people living their unglamorous lives.

Jules Breton was a French painter during the Realism movement. He painted the harsh conditions of life in the countryside, yet he did so with more optimism than others known for such subjects. His works often showed female laborers standing proud, lit from behind by the sunset. The End of the Working Day evokes a sense of hope that appears even in the toughest of times.

9. Sunset in the East

In late 19th-century Europe, interest in the Middle East began to grow. This fascination led to what we know today as Orientalism. Many European artists traveled east, especially to Egypt. Their artwork gained popularity for various reasons. One was that most Europeans knew little about the East, and its culture, architecture, and even nature felt unfamiliar and exotic to Western viewers. That is why many of these paintings romanticized the scenes they portrayed. An Italian painter, Hermann Corrodi, was drawn to the region. He traveled through the Middle East, creating stunning landscapes. Many of his works feature beautiful sunsets that engulf each scene in warm light.

10. Land of the Rising and the Setting Sun

In early 20th-century Japan, the shin-hanga movement emerged. These woodblock prints aimed to continue the ukiyo-e tradition. However, they did not gain much popularity in Japan. Instead, they found great success in the West, in part because of the rise of Japonisme, which fueled Western interest in Japanese art.

One artist who achieved success with his shin-hanga works was Tsuchiya Koitsu. He studied under the great ukiyo-e master Kobayashi Kiyochika. Like his teacher, Koitsu used bold and vibrant colors in his prints. However, what sets his prints apart is the foreign influence. Shin-hanga artists drew inspiration from Western art, especially in their use of light and shadow. We see this influence in Koitsu’s Sunset at Tomonotsu, Inland Sea. His deep understanding of light reflecting on the water truly brings this pink sunset to life.