WILLEM VAN DE VELDE THE YOUNGER (1633-1707)
A Calm : A States Yacht, A Barge and many other Vessels under Sail
Signed and dated 1659Oil on canvas | 61.7 x 71.6 x 1.7 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 407275
This seascape and A Calm, the next painting in this exhibition, were not created as a pair, but had become one before they were acquired by George IV. Both depict a profusion of shipping, of all types and sizes, at anchor in the inland sea, conveying the scale of the Dutch maritime enterprise. Both describe a multiplicity of men and technology within a unity of light and atmosphere, of sky reflected in the mirror of the sea.