Willem van de Velde the Elder

This large and animated depiction of the Dutch fleet at anchor, sails furled but Dutch flags proudly flying, was probably made by Willem van de Velde the Elder around 1663-64. The now illegible inscription in the bottom centre of the sheet would probably clarify the exact time and place of the drawing's execution, but a number of other drawings of around this date are rather similarly composed and executed, with broad, atmospheric washes and touches of pen in combination with extensive use of black chalk; two good examples are to be found in the large group of drawings by the artist and his son, in the Boijmans van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam.¹  Remmelt Daalder, of the Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum, Amsterdam, has kindly suggested that the topography of the shoreline suggests that the location is one of the northern islands, possibly Den Helder, and that the words "thoren schuyt" in the inscription top left indicate that this was a place where a certain kind of ferry boat landed. 

This complex composition is remarkable for the sheer number and variety of vessels portrayed. The only other van de Velde drawings of this scale and quality that have appeared on the market in recent times are the series of astonishing, rediscovered drawings from the collection of John Pierpont Morgan 2nd, which were sold in 2006.²

1. M.S. Robinson, The Willem van de Velde Drawings in the Boymans-van Beuningen Museum Rotterdam, 3 vols., Rotterdam 1979, vol. I, p. 83, no. T472, and p. 86, no. T473, reproduced, vol. III, pp. 21 and 47 respectively

2. New York, Sotheby's, 25 January 2006, lots 7-19