Ships from the Dutch Golden Age at the National Gallery of Art

Willem Van De Velde the Younger, 1633-1707, The Dutch Fleet Assembling Before the Four Days' Battle of 11-14 June 1666, 1670, on loan from Moveo Art Collection. This depicts the Dutch ships, the Liefde (Love) on the left and the Gouden Leeuwen (Golden Lions) on the right, as they sailed on the North Sea to wage war on the British during the Second Anglo-Dutch War (1665-1667). Although the Liefde sank during the engagement, the Dutch won the battle, the longest and largest ship fight between the two nations.

 

Above is one of the 17th century ship models in the exhibition at the National Gallery of Art, Water, Wind, and Waves: Marine Paintings from the Dutch Golden Age. This model is on loan from the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts. The artist is unknown. Iceboards attached to the sides helped stabilize the ship, especially in shallower waters, indicating this yacht was intended to stay closer to shore rather than venturing out to higher seas, according to the label copy/Photo by Patricia Leslie
 
Water, Wind, and Waves: Marine Paintings from the Dutch Golden Age at the National Gallery of Art came down last Sunday,  but here, you may read about it and see some of the 50 odd pieces in the exhibition which included ship models, paintings, prints, and drawings portrayed by artists from the 17th century and the Dutch Golden Age.

Then the Dutch stood at their height of realm and rule, the most prosperous nation in Europe, emboldened by their mighty seas and waterways which were used for commerce, battles, and pleasure,  and drawn by their artists.

Breaking from religious themes and styles, Dutch painters drew subjects from everyday scenes, people, landscapes, animals, flowers, still lifes, historical events, ships, and water. Rembrandt van Rijn was represented by six of his etchings and drawings.

Adam Van Breen, 1585-1640, Skating on the Frozen Amstel River, 1611, National Gallery of Art, Washington. Waterways were not only used for commerce but for pleasure, too. See the dancers on the ice shaking a leg after, perhaps, imbibing in some Amstel Light beer. At the bottom near the center to the right of the dignitary in red, is a lad carrying a stick over his shoulder to play kolf, a combination of golf and hockey. His red and black shirt identifies him as an orphan.

Hendrick Avercamp, 1585-1634, A Scene on the Ice, c. 1625. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Here you can see couples in love, couples, maybe out of love, a playful dog, a horse-drawn sleigh, and children playing the precursor of hockey, kolf.

Rembrandt van Rijn, 1606-1669, View over the Amstel from the Rampart, c. 1646-1650, National Gallery of Art, Washington

Rembrandt van Rijn, 1606-1669, The Bathers, 1651, National Gallery of Art, Washington

Abraham Blooteling, 1640-1690, Admiral Egbert Meesz Kortenaer, c. 1665. One of the most interesting in the show. The admiral lost his lower right arm and left eye in the First Anglo-Dutch war in 1652 in the Battle of Dungeness. He continued to serve his nation until his death in 1665 at the Battle of Lowestoft when the Dutch were defeated near the coast of Suffolk, England. Look at the confidence in his eyes and his strong grasp of the telescope or baton (what is it?) in his left hand, a force demanding reckoning! He is buried at Rotterdam at the memorial (pictured below) which is engraved with a poem by Gerard Brandt.

By Josh at nl.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org

The Hero of the Maas, bereft of eye 
 and his right hand
Yet of the Wheel the Eye, Fist of 
the Fatherland 
KORTENAER the Great, the terror 
of foe's fleets
the forcer of the Sound by this grave 
his country greets

Jan van Goyen, 1596-1656, Ice Scene near a Wooden Observation Tower, 1646, National Gallery of Art, Washington. See the horse-drawn sleigh on the ice on the left and men pushing carts. The tower provided a mark in the horizon to help sailors navigate waterways. During bad weather and at dusk, the tower was a lighthouse.  The time period is what is known as the "Little Ice Age."

Hendrick Cornelis Vroom, 1566-1640, A Fleet at Sea, c. 1614, private collection. The label copy said Vroom was the first Dutch painter to specialize in seascapes. He was a frequent sailor who survived a shipwreck and applied his experiences and observations to the canvas.

Cornelius Verbeeck, 1591-1637. A Naval Encounter between Dutch and Spanish Warships, c. 1618-1620, National Gallery of Art, Washington. For ten years these two works led separate lives  until technical analysis revealed they belonged together, according to label copy. A Spanish ship on the left fires cannons on the Dutch on the right. The Dutch ships were usually smaller and more easily navigated, especially by their skilled and experienced crew, testimony which can be seen below the Dutch vessel where a destroyed Spanish vessel is battered by waves.

Water, Wind, and Waves: Marine Paintings from the Dutch Golden Age at the National Gallery of Art, Washington/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The curator for the exhibition was Alexandra Libby, the assistant curator of northern Baroque paintings at the National Gallery.

What and when: The National Gallery of Art is open 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sunday.

Where: The National Gallery of Art, between Third and Ninth streets at Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. On the Mall.

Admission charge: It's always free at the National Gallery of Art.

Metro stations for the National Gallery of Art:
Smithsonian, Federal Triangle, Navy Memorial-Archives or L'Enfant Plaza

For more information: 202-737-4215
 
patricialesli@gmail.com