Ships with the flag of the States-General on a choppy sea before a harbour city, oil on panel, 32 x 61 cm, framed

Provenance:
European private collection.

Hendrick Vroom was one of the most important early Dutch marine painters. His main interest was in depicting ships in minute, precise detail. This painting belongs to a series of pictures showing views of cities on the edge of expanses of water. These pictures, which depict the cities of Vianen, Hoorn, Veere, Delft and Alkmaar, are today still to be found in the city halls or museums of these cities (see L. J. Bol, Die holländischen Marinemaler des 17. Jahrhunderts, Braunschweig 1973, p. 26f., ills. 20–24). Bol writes, “A further category of Vroom’s oeuvre is still to be mentioned, that is the views of cities set on water. These depictions were usually commissioned from the artist by the authorities, bought from him or accepted as a gift. In the latter case, the artist would then be ‘honoured’ with a sum of money (Delft, Hoorn). Five such pretty, genial, cheerful and lively narrative pictures with striking buildings – churches, city halls, city walls and mills – which stand against the light sky like silhouettes, featuring jolly ships on calm waters in the foreground, are still to be found in the cities and towns, where they belong [...] (Bol, op. cit., p. 26). Vroom enjoyed great success with his marine paintings. He could demand high prices and enjoyed the protection of the family of the Statthalter.

On his commercial behaviour, Bol writes, “In 1621, the Admiralty councils in Amsterdam decided to present Prince Mauritz van Oranje-Nassau with a large picture of a Marine battle near Gibraltar as decoration for the new wing of his palace in The Hague, the west wing, seen from the internal courtyard. They summoned the famous painter, Vroom, who stipulated 6000 guilders as a fee. When the gentlemen sought to negotiate, the artist left the room in anger, “gebruyckende insolente propoosten en woorden” (employing outrageous arguments and expressions)...”.

An almost identical painting was presented as a loan to the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam for a period of time (see RKD images, art work no. 8770). We are grateful to Suzanne Laemers of the RKD, The Hague, for pointing us in the direction of this painting. Since the painting is not signed, she is of the opinion that it can only be attributed to Vroom.