Dutch Ships in a Lively Breeze

Jockeying for position with three other well-armed ships and a small open yacht, a large and heavily armed East Indiaman, carrying the Amsterdam coat of arms on its stern, sails through a crowded shipping lane. Rather than a depiction of a specific moment on the water, the work is likely an imaginary composition conceived in the artist’s studio.

The attribution to an artist from the circle of Jacob Adriaensz Bellevois is based on style and compositional qualities that are characteristic of that Rotterdam marine painter. Bellevois would generally spread his vessels randomly across the picture plane instead of uniting them into an integrated whole. He painted loosely, never softening the details of the ships or of their riggings so they would merge atmospherically into the broader tonal character of the image. All of Bellevois’s mannerisms are evident in the Gallery’s painting, but the overall quality level is below his standards, and the ships’ lack of three-dimensionality is particularly noticeable. Perhaps Bellevois had a workshop, or perhaps the painting’s problems are exacerbated by its poor condition. Too many unknowns exist to be able to establish a firm attribution for this work.