A Mediterranean coastal scene at sunset with a royal yacht being caulked, a tower by a fort nearby, sailors unloading cargo in the foreground

The present composition is clearly indebted to the popular italianised capriccio landscapes that artists like Adriaen van der Cabel and Thomas Wijck painted in the last quarter of the 17th century. There is no documentation of an Italian sojourn, but Bakhuizen was undoubtedly familiar with these atmospheric landscapes, present in many Dutch collections and also painted in large numbers in the Northern Netherlands. The notion of a genre scene with the group of figures to the right, and the diagonal division of the composition, places the present harbour scene in the 1690s of Bakhuizen's oeuvre. The coat-of-arms on the stern of the yacht in the foreground has been identified as that of King William III.

We are grateful to Dr Gerlinde de Beer for confirming the attribution after inspection of the original (verbal communication, 29 August 2007).