Sunday, December 18, 2011

Willem van de Velde II


Happy Birthday Willem van de Velde II!! This painter, born in 1633, was from Holland. He was a student of Simon de Vlieger, painter of atmospheric maritime scenes, contrasted by Willem's own father who was also an influential painter of realistic seascapes. Initially Willem II concentrated on serene Dutch genre scenes of fishing boats near the shore, but his focus shifted a bit when he and his father relocated to England. Here he depicted Royal yachts and warships, and was commissioned by the king to paint battles at sea. The painting below, titled The Gust (1680), pictures a ship in trouble with perhaps the smaller ship coming to its aid.


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