Slightly moved Sea with Vessels

Maritime painting was important to 17th-century Dutch art, as it was due to its shipping that the Dutch republic became a great naval and commercial power. Ludolf Backhuysen was one of the leading exponents of this genre. Various ships, representing the various branches of Dutch seamanship, are sailing on the slightly choppy sea: inland yachts, fishing boats, cargo vessels and warships. Many of them are flying the Dutch flag. The composition is enlivened by large cumulus clouds with the sun shining on them, creating a varied play of light on the surface of the water. Even without a specific theme, apparently simple marine pieces of this kind could express the viewer’s sense of national identity and also serve as a positive metaphor for man’s harmony with God-determined nature.| Prestel Museum Guides - Gemäldegalerie Berlin, 2017
SIGNATUR / INSCHRIFT: Bez. an dem kleinen Boot vorn in der Mitte: 1664 LBack.