Painting by celebrated marine artist surfaces after 300 years

As the tall ships sail into the port of Amsterdam, a seascape signed by the celebrated Dutch marine painter Willem van de Velde the Younger has been discovered after 300 years of oblivion.

Men-o-war becalmed offshore and drying their sails, with seafaring folk working, will go under the hammer on September 3 at the Woolley and Wallis auction house in Salisbury. It is thought to have been purchased by botanist and antiquarian Edward Rudge (1763-1846), remaining in a private collection away from public view ever since.

Dating from around 1680 and painted in England, the work’s existence was suspected when English art historian Michael Robinson identified a smaller work by Van de Velde depicting a small sailing ship in a Dutch private collection which he thought could have formed part of a larger canvas. The sailing ship, or galliot, shows a marked similarity to the one depicted in the newly discovered painting.

According to Dutch art historian and Van de Velde expert Dr Remmelt Daalder, who based his opinion on photographs, the painting shows “all the right characteristics”, including the low horizon and the prominent display of a group of warships and the sailing vessel typical for Van de Velde.

Van de Velde the younger (1633 -1707) was born in Leiden. Both he and his father excelled at maritime subjects and acquired a wide clientele of admirals, merchants and statesmen in the Dutch Republic. In 1672, they moved to England at the invitation of King Charles II, where they continued to be successful, finding patrons among the aristocracy and the wealthy.

The painting carries an estimate of between £8,000 and £12,000 (€9,624- €13,914)

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