Cornelis Bouwmeester

Rotterdam, Historisch Museum, lent by the father of the present owner from 1973 until 2008.

J. Giltaij and J. Kelch (eds.), Lof der Zeevaart. De Hollandse zeeschilders van de 17de eeuw, exhibition catalogue, Rotterdam 1996, pp. 459-61, reproduced p. 461.

The actual painting is a little darker and softer in tone than the catalogue illustration suggests. The panel consists of 2 planks, joined horizontally, and is bevelled on all sides. The panel has a slight convex bow. There's a tiny fleck of paint loss in the lower centre right. A few tiny retouchings can be observed along the lower and left edges, along the join, and in the sky upper left. The paint surface is under a dirty and discoloured layer of varnish, and its removal would improve the tonality. Inspection under UV-light remains inconclusive due to the dirty varnish layer, but there is possibly some minor strengthening in the ship. Offered in a black ebonised wood frame, in good condition. (MW)
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Although Cornelis Bouwmeester was mostly famous for his large tile-pictures with seascapes and coastal views, painted on majolica or faience, this painting shows he was equally adept a master of penschilderijen. Inspired by Willem van de Velde the Elder, his monochrome marine pen paintings are characterised by the exquisitely detailed and accurate portrayal of all kinds of shipping, quietly composed in calm seas, in full battle, or even shipwrecked.

In this painting, Bouwmeester has depicted in great detail the Dutch VOC sailing ship, De Concordia. De Concordia, a relatively large frigate weighing approximately 900 tons, was built in 1696 for the VOC-chamber in Delft. In 1697 it sailed of for the East-Indies for the very first time, returning again in 1701 and 1706. The ship's itineraries have been recorded in logbooks¹, but it is only from drawings and paintings like the present work that we can imagine how impressive the ship must have been in real life: the mirror of the ship was very richly decorated, depicting an allegory of concord in the form of a female figure holding the horn of plenty, with a large banner with the name of the ship, and the coat-of-arms of all the six chambers of the VOC.

On 15 January 1708, under the command of admiral Joris Vis, De Concordia left Bavaria, never to return to Holland; she was last seen in open seas near the coast of Mauritius on 5 February 1708, according to the journals of an accompanying ship, in very heavy storms.

1. See P. van Dam, Beschrijvinge van de Oostindische Compagnie, Eerste boek, vol. I, The Hague 1927.