Shipping outside the harbour of Vlaardingen, Schiedam beyond

Like his 17th Century fellow artist Reinier Nooms, called Zeeman, Groenwegen became an artist only after an accident during his work as a ship's carpenter. He was trained by Nicolaes Muys, and became best known for his many etchings of shipping. As Mr. Renting of the Municipal Archive, Rotterdam has pointed out, this is a preliminary study for the artist's etching entitled 'Het Vlaardingse Hooft' dated 1797. A drawing in the Maritime Museum, Rotterdam shows the same composition, but is presumably only a copy after the present lot or the print after it.