Adam Willaerts

Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 23 January 1953, lot 109.

The actual painting is less red in tone than the catalogue illustration suggests The panel consists of one plank, beveled to all sides, which is flat and stable. The paint surface seems to be in good condition, although shows some minor flaking, mainly in the sky, and which has resulted in a tiny paint loss in the sky centre left. Under UV light some small retouchings in the lower left, along the grain, in the lower centre and a few in the sky can be made out. The paint surface is under a dirty and yellowed varnish layer. Offered in a plain wood frame in good condition. (ML)
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Born in Antwerp, Willaerts started his career as a marine painter, probably after he settled in Utrecht in 1602, where he stayed until his death in 1664. He is recorded in 1611 as one of the founders of the Utrecht St. Luke's Guild. Willaerts painted beach scenes, historical subjects, fleets off foreign shores, and marine genre paintings. The earliest of Willaerts' marines, often panoramic views with high horizonlines, are closely related in style to the early works of the pre-eminent marine painter of the time Hendrick Cornelisz. Vroom (1562/3-1640).

This beautifully balanced composition is a fine and characteristic example of Willaerts' own more naturalistic style, which he had gradually developed by the early 1620s. His marine paintings dating to around this time are usually colourful beach or coastal scenes in horizontal formats with numerous figures in the foreground, and as is particularly evident in the present work, tend to have a strong narrative touch. In this two-pronged compositional structure, with a rocky Mediterranean coastline on the left, and a town facing on the right, the English royal barge entering the river-mouth forms the centre of a fictional narrative. This painting may be compared stylistically to a coastal landscape sold in these Rooms, 15 November 2005, lot 8, and to a Marine with a deer hunt in the Kunsthalle, Hamburg.¹

1. See J. Giltaij and J. Kelch, Lof der Zeevaart. De Hollandse zeeschilders van de 17de eeuw, exhibition catalogue, Rotterdam/Berlin 1996, pp. 114-6, cat. no. 12, reproduced p. 115.