Adriaen van Salm

With Galerie Heim Gairac, Paris, by 1988;

From whom acquired by a private collector, France;

Anonymous sale, Paris, Tajan, 14 December 1998, lot 215 for 140,000 francs;

Private collection, Germany.

Adriaen van Salm, a resident of Delfshaven, specialized in penschilderen, of which this is a highly representative example. The technique of penschilderen painting, or drawing in ink with a reed or quill pen on a gesso prepared panel or canvas, yielded a highly refined image. These monochromatic works, typically depicting shipping, whaling and the occasional winter scene, are highly detailed and have the appearance of a drawing or print. Images such as this were highly desired by collectors in the 17th and 18th centuries especially. Early practitioners of penschilderijen were Willem van de Velde (1611–1693) and Caspar van den Bos (b. 1634), both of whom specialized in shipping and whaling scenes.

Another version of this composition, with slight variations in the arrangement of vessels, is in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.¹

^1 https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-12451; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adriaen_van_Salm_(c.1660-1720)_-_Dutch_Herring_Fleet_-_BHC0959_-_Royal_Museums_Greenwich.jpg