Dutch Ships in a Calm Sea, Willem van de Velde (II), c. 1665

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Dutch Ships in a Calm Sea, Willem van de Velde (II), c. 1665

oil on canvas, h 86.8cm × w 120cm More details

A few warships in a calm sea: their sails are being hoisted, their anchors raised. The small squadron is getting ready to depart. A sloop with dignitaries rows past the ships, to the sounding of trumpets and firing of salutes. Already in 1778, this painting was described in a sales catalogue as being exceptional: ‘one of the best gems by this outstanding marine painter.’

On display in Gallery of Honour

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Identification

Title(s)

Dutch Ships in a Calm Sea

Object type

painting

Object number

SK-C-1707

Inscriptions / marks

signature: ‘willem:van velde f’
label: ‘VAN DE VELDE’
inscription: ‘THOS.AGNEW & SON LTD./ W.O. 725/ 72’
inscription: ‘YE8 82’
inscription: ‘YE 882/ 2 OMP, YE 882/ 2 C8’

Description

Op een weidse, kalme zee liggen zes oorlogsschepen. De zeilen worden gehesen, de ankers gelicht. De spiegel van het schip rechts op de voorgrond is gedecoreerd met het wapen van Amsterdam, opgehouden door twee staande leeuwen. Waarschijnlijk gaat het hier om een deel van een oorlogsvloot die zich gereedmaakt voor vertrek. Een sloep met deftige figuren, waarschijnlijk van de Admiraliteit, vaart onder trompetgeschal en saluutschoten langs de schepen, terwijl even verderop de laatste proviand en bemanning nog aan boord wordt genomen. Opvallend is de enorme accuratesse in de weergave van details: tuigage, zeilen en kanonnen.

Creation

Artist

painter: Willem van de Velde (II)

Place

Netherlands

Dating

c. 1665

Material and Technique

Physical features

oil on canvas

Material

oil paint (paint)
canvas

Technique

painting

Measurements

height 86.8 cm × width 120 cm

Explanatory note

Kist behorende bij bruikleen opgenomen in verpakkingsmodule onder nummer K-037.

Subject

What

sailing-ship, sailing-boat
sea (seascape)
flag, colours (as symbol of the state, etc.)

Acquisition and rights

Credit line

On loan from the Broere Charitable Foundation

Acquisition

loan 15-Oct-2012

Copyright

Public domain

Provenance

Inv.; collection Abraham Wildey Robarts, M.P. (1779-1858), Berkeley Square, London, 1856;{According to the catalogue for the sale, London (Christie's), 6 December 2011, no. 9.} his son, Abraham John Robarts (1838-1926), London, 1918;{Hofstede de Groot VII, 1918, p. 39, no. 118.} by descent through the family;{According to the catalogue for the sale, London (Christie's), 6 December 2011, no. 9.} anonymous sale [section 'the property of a family trust'], London (Christie's), 6 December 2011, no. 9, £ 5,921,250, to the present owner; from whom on loan to the museum, since 2012

Bibliography and list of abbreviations for the provenance (pdf)

Notes

Please note that this provenance was formulated with a special focus on provenance research for the years 1933-45 and could therefore be incomplete. There may be more (mostly earlier) provenance information known in the museum. In case this item has an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933-45, the Rijksmuseum welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era.

Documentation

Rembrandt in perspectief : de veranderende visie op de meester en zijn werk, p. 306, afb. 10.34
Van de Velde : a catalogue of the paintings of the Elder and the Younger Willem van de Velde, Michael S. Robinson, dl. 1, p. 283-284, cat.nr. 619
Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke der hervorragendsten holländischen Maler des XVII. Jahrh., Kurt Erasmus, Kurt Freise, Cornelis Hofstede de Groot, Eduard Plietzsch, Wilhelm Reinhold Valentiner, dl. 7, p. 37-38, cat.nr. 118
Galleries and cabinets of art in Great Britain : being an account of more than 40 collections of paintings, drawings, sculptures, mss. and c. visited in 1854 and 1856 ... forming a supplemental volume to the Treasures of art in Great Britain, Gustav Friedrich Waagen, p. 164
A catalogue raisonné of the works of the most eminent Dutch, Flemish and French painters : in which is included a short biographical notice of the artists, with a copious description of their principal pictures : a statement of the prices at which such pictures have been sold at public sales on the continent and in England : a reference to the galleries and private collections, in which a large portion are at present; and the names of the artists by whom they have been engraved; to which is added a brief notice of the scholars and imitators of the great masters of the above schools, dl. 6, p. 342-343, cat.nr. 83
Acquisitions : paintings 2008-13, 300-301, fig. 3
W. Gibson, 'Mr. Robarts' Collection of Pictures', Apollo Magazine 8 (1928), nr. 45, p. 116-118, afb.

Persistent URL

To refer to this object please use the following persistent URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.511268

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