A Mediterranean harbour scene with figures by a gate, a Dutch man o'war nearby

The drawings of Jacobus and his brother Abraham Storck (circa 1635-circa 1710) are often difficult to distinguish from one another. Both artists are known for depicting shipping, sometimes by Dutch towns or, as in the present lot, in a Mediterranean setting. Abraham's monumental drawing of the frigate 'Saint Peter and Paul', built by Czar Peter the Great in Amsterdam, was sold in these Rooms on 20 November 1989, lot 163, and is now in the Municipal Archives of Amsterdam. Jacob's drawing of shipping by a Mediterranean palace was sold in these Rooms on 15 November 1983, lot 94, while similar scenes by Abraham were sold at Sotheby's, Amsterdam, 12 November 1996, lots 81 and 82.
Signed and dated, the present lot was obviously intended to be sold as a finished work of art. It is a variant of Abraham Storck's signed drawing in the Collection de Grez, Muse Royale des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, catalogue, 1933, no. 3488. A copy after of this in the printroom at Leiden University (Gernsheim no. 44779).