(Attributed to) Willem VAN DE VELDE THE YOUNGER (1633-1707, Dutch) & Studio
An English Yacht Racing to Windward under a Foresail in a Strong to Gale force Wind
Oil on canvas
59.4 x 49.5 inches
65 x 56 inches framed in the period carved and gilded frame
Price: Price on Application
Provenance:
- Collection of Sir Richard Cotterell Bt, Garnons, Hereford
- Sotheby’s, London, 27 November 1957, lot 47 (as Van der Velde)
- Collection William Drown, London
- Spink & Son, London
- Alfred Brod Gallery, London
- Collection R.P. Schweder, London
- Chaucer and Van Dam Galleries, London
- Collection of a prominent family, the Netherlands
Literature:
- M.S. Robinson, The Paintings of the Willem van de Veldes. A Catalogue of the paintings of the Elder and the Younger Willem van de Velde, Vol. II, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, 1990, pp. 1042-1044, no. 85 (ill.)
Willem van de Velde (1633-1707) was the leading Dutch marine painter of the later 17th Century. Son of Willem van de Velde the Elder, also a painter of sea-pieces, the younger was instructed by his father and afterwards by Simon de Vlieger, a marine painter of repute at the time, and had achieved great celebrity by his art before he came to London. By 1673 Van de Velde the Younger had moved to England, where he was engaged by Charles II at a salary of £100, to aid his father in “taking and making draughts of sea-fights”, his part of the work being to reproduce in colour the drawings of the elder Van de Velde. Willem the younger was also patronised by the Duke of York and various other members of nobility. He died in London on 6th April 2707 and was buried at St James’ Church, Piccadilly where a memorial to him and his father lies.
Many of Van de Velde’s works represent views off the coast. His paintings are notable by the delicate, spirited and finished hand. They are also correct in the drawing of the vessels and their rigging, a rare attribute of marine paintings at the time. Van de Velde is successful in his renderings of the sea, whether in calm or storm. His ships are portrayed with almost photographic accuracy and are the most precise guides available to the appearance of 17th Century ships.
His later paintings shaped the development of seascape painting in England in the 18th Century.
The ship depicted in our painting is believed to be HMS Henrietta, one of Charles II’s pleasure yachts used for racing but with the capability of being used as a war ship if necessary.
'Henrietta' of 1679 (see K. Moneypenny and D.P. Bucur 'The Royal Yacht 'Henrietta' of 1679...', 'Mariner's Mirror', vol 100, no 2 (2014) pp 132-46).
This illustration together with the model at Welbeck Abbey demonstrate the likeness with the ship in our painting. Recognisable features include:
- The elaborate gilding and carving work across the stern, sketched by van de Velde and typical of the yachts built for Charles II
- The three lanterns on the stern that were reportedly demanded by King Charles II for the (poop) deck
- Royal Yacht Henrietta was reported to have 8 three-pounder guns, 4 of which can just been seen (behind the wave) on the starboard side of the ship in our painting
- The presence of “a ‘well deck’ dividing the great cabin in two, providing a semi-enclosed space for the monarch to take the air”