.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Together with Jan Porcellis, De Vlieger was the great innovator of maritime subjects in Dutch art. His repertoire was varied but the small number of storms, often featuring ships in distress, arguably constitutes his greatest contribution to the development of Dutch marine painting. The present shipwreck scene is a spectacular example and a yardstick of his best work. Its sublime realism and eye for dramatic detail both are novel qualities that changed the course of marine painting.
The scene is set near some outlandish coastline with steep rocks rising from the sea, forming a massive backdrop. Under an awe-inspiring overcast sky a heavily ruined vessel is labouring between enormous waves. Its fate is decided. All its three masts have broken and the rigging is almost entirely gone. Nearer to the coast scattered pieces of driftwood can be seen, some with passengers clinging to them. A crowded sloop is swept onto the shore and numerous other sailors attempt to reach the shore safely wading or swimming. White-crested waves hammer on the beach while water is gushing back into the sea at the same time, a motif that De Vlieger captured with great finesse. Seagulls are set off against the cliffs and create an effect of distance.
This painting is a powerful illustration of De Vlieger’s vision of landscape in which the artist introduces a human dimension by making the viewer identify with the protagonists. Another important component is his exploration of the expressive potential of atmospheric effects. Finally, these images of shipwrecks are poignant metaphors of the human soul, its profane vicissitudes and its quest for salvation.
De Vlieger developed his tonal style in the 1630s and continued to perfect it. In our painting, which is dated 1642, the artist masterfully modulates his palette to render the interplay between the choppy sea and the expansive grey sky. Vast in scale but meticulously executed and compositionally sophisticated, this beautifully preserved work counts among De Vlieger’s most ambitious paintings.
Professor Jan Kelch, Berlin, whom we kindly thank for sharing his help with this lot, will include this work in his forthcoming catalogue raisonné of De Vlieger’s work.
The scene is set near some outlandish coastline with steep rocks rising from the sea, forming a massive backdrop. Under an awe-inspiring overcast sky a heavily ruined vessel is labouring between enormous waves. Its fate is decided. All its three masts have broken and the rigging is almost entirely gone. Nearer to the coast scattered pieces of driftwood can be seen, some with passengers clinging to them. A crowded sloop is swept onto the shore and numerous other sailors attempt to reach the shore safely wading or swimming. White-crested waves hammer on the beach while water is gushing back into the sea at the same time, a motif that De Vlieger captured with great finesse. Seagulls are set off against the cliffs and create an effect of distance.
This painting is a powerful illustration of De Vlieger’s vision of landscape in which the artist introduces a human dimension by making the viewer identify with the protagonists. Another important component is his exploration of the expressive potential of atmospheric effects. Finally, these images of shipwrecks are poignant metaphors of the human soul, its profane vicissitudes and its quest for salvation.
De Vlieger developed his tonal style in the 1630s and continued to perfect it. In our painting, which is dated 1642, the artist masterfully modulates his palette to render the interplay between the choppy sea and the expansive grey sky. Vast in scale but meticulously executed and compositionally sophisticated, this beautifully preserved work counts among De Vlieger’s most ambitious paintings.
Professor Jan Kelch, Berlin, whom we kindly thank for sharing his help with this lot, will include this work in his forthcoming catalogue raisonné of De Vlieger’s work.