Sometimes, a painting doesn’t need a dramatic storm or a roaring sea battle to make you stop and look. Sometimes, it’s the quiet moments that really pull you in. That’s exactly what Thomas Jacques Somerscales captures in his 1902 painting A Bathing Party, HMS Clio. At first glance, it’s just a ship anchored on a calm […]

continue reading.....

There’s something special about seeing two historic ships sharing the same stretch of water, and Anthony D. Blake captures that magic perfectly in his painting of the yacht America passing the USS Constitution near Newport, Rhode Island in 1865. Blake, a New Zealander born in 1951, has a real gift for maritime art. He’s known […]

continue reading.....

Dutch Ships in Distress off a Rocky Coast by Ludolph Backhuysen, 1667 National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (image 16001086 px, 343 KB) This highly dramatic scene of Dutch ships facing seemingly eminent destruction by the raging sea is a prominent example of Backhuysen’s abilities to theatrically portray the forces of nature. Despite the great […]

continue reading.....

The Dutch burn English ships during the expedition to Chatham (Raid on Medway, 1667) (De Hollanders steken Engelse schepen in brand tijdens de tocht naar Chatham 20 juni 1667) by Jan van Leyden, 1669 Rijksmuseum Amsterdam (image 19201104, 0.98 MB) The Raid on Chatham is undoubtedly one of the most impressive victories in Dutch history. […]

continue reading.....

Bombardment of Algiers, to Support the Ultimatum to Release White Slaves, August 26-27 1816, painted in 1823 by Martinus Schouman on orders of Ministerie van Marine Rijksmuseum Amsterdam These two paintings depict episodes of a joint Anglo-Dutch action against Barbary States in 1816. For centuries the forces of North African monarchies have been raiding the […]

continue reading.....

In the early 1650s the damage caused by French and Barbary Coast pirates to Dutch Levant trade forced the Republic of Seven United Provinces to send an expedition commanded by Admiral Johan van Galen to the Mediterranean. With the start of the First Anglo-Dutch War the Dutch squadron had to face yet another enemy – […]

continue reading.....

Unsuccessful English attack on the VOC fleet at Bergen, 12 August 1665, by Willem van de Velde the Elder, 1669 (De mislukte aanslag van de Engelsen op de retourvloot in de haven van Bergen) Rijksmuseum Amsterdam (Image 48222195 pixels, 3.45MB) In July 1665 Lord Sandwich, commander of the English fleet, took his ships to the […]

continue reading.....

An English Ship with Sails Loosened Firing a Gun, by Peter Monamy The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (image 2835 x 2301 pixels, 3.08MB) This painting had been formerly attributed to Willem van de Velde the Younger, but in 1973 it was re-attributed to Peter Monamy, a British painter (1681-1749). While there are […]

continue reading.....

Shipping on the IJ by Amsterdam, by Ludolf Bakhiuzen (Scheepwart op het IJ bij Amsterdam) Emden, Ostfriesisches Landesmuseum Emden (image 14170 x 1070, 853 KB) A study for this etching is located in the British Museum, London. From left to right are shown a flute, a ketch, a vessel of an unknown type, a rowboat, […]

continue reading.....

Boats in a harbour and a yacht sailing away, also known as Harbour mole of Texel by Willem van de Velde the Younger, 1673 Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam (image 3000×2040 px, 1.57 MB) This painting by Willem van de Velde the Younger shows several boats at a harbor mole and a wijdschip with a […]

continue reading.....