Van de Velde the Elder was originally from Holland but ended up in the service of King Charles II of England in around 1672. He was commissioned to paint naval battles and even had the current Queen's House which is part of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich as his studio. The distinct realistic nature of the sea, boats and sky were new to the English maritime scene and left a lasting legacy on marine art in this country. His son continued his father's passion for art of this style and at the Turner & the Sea exhibition a couple of his famous paintings are on the display. The one shown below is a picture of a brigantine style of ship that is drifting towards a rocky outcrop. If you look closely van de Velde the Younger has concentrated on the plight of those who are on board the ship and you can even see some figures on the rigging. The realistic nature of the painting and the dramatic waves of the sea are very reminiscent of the 19th century marine artists this blog will mainly look at. However, it is worth seeing the original masters of this style, and how if at all it has developed.
It is worth taking a moment just to take in the brilliance of van de Velde the Younger and to see why the likes of Turner held him in such high esteem...
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| Willem van de Velde the Younger, A Mediterranean Brigantine Drifting onto a Rocky Coast Storm, c.1700, oil-on-canvas: 63.5 x 72.4 cm, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. |
I really do love the drama of the storm Van de Velde creates. The sails of the ship have such vibrance, and how the flag portrays just how stormy it was. What I was first drawn to was the waves. Almost like mountains they rise and fall so dramatically and one can imagine the terrifying experience of maritime life in the eye of a storm.
ReplyDeleteAre there were any books you would recommend on early Maritime art for someone who is very new to it? Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.
Thanks for your comment! I shall have a think and get back to you soon, there are a few I think could be useful which look at maritime art back in the 17th century onwards in Britain.
ReplyDeleteHi Godfrey, I think the best book I can recommend is 'Marine Painting in England 1700-1900' by David Cordingly. I think it gives the best overview of maritime art in Britain that I have found and also looks at the Dutch origin I have been speaking of very well. It splits the book into four main sections which I will briefly go over:
ReplyDelete1) The Inspiration of Holland: looking primarily at the van de Veldes.
2) The Eighteenth Century: the formation of an English style. Looking at artists such as Dominic Serres, Thomas Luny, Nicholas Pockock and Thomas Buttersworth.
3) The Romantic Movement: a new approach to the sea. Looking at artists like JMW Turner, Philip James de Louterbourg, AW Callcott and RP Bonnington.
4) The Victorian period. Looking at artists such as Clarkson Stanfield, JW Carmichael, John Brett and EW Cooke.
The reason I like this book a lot is that it looks at roughly the 50 most important maritime artists and then studies each one separately. This will help you to learn more about individual artists as well as being able to use the extensive pictures and references included for the artists.
Another book I would recommend is the current 'Turner & the Sea' exhibition book by Christine Riding and Richard Johns as this also gives an overview of British maritime art albeit in a different form.
Hope these suggestions help, for the first book you would probably have find it on the amazon marketplace or ABE books. Also if anyone else has some useful books on maritime art they would like to share that would be great!