A Ship at Sea

Ludolf Backhuysen

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The ship depicted here is a so called ‘fluitschip’, a commercial vessel, ideal for cargo shipments because of its remarkably large capacity. Bakhuysen, who was one of the most important painters of marines during the latter half of the seventeenth century, shows the ship shortening sail at full sea. The subtle gray washes with which the sky and sea are rendered convey the misty atmosphere of an overcast day. The low horizon enhances the majestic appearance of the ship as it continues on its course. Drawings such as the one depicted here were primarily intended as studies in the preparation of a painting. This ship could be integrated in a larger composition with multiple vessels on wide open seas. According to the artist-biographer Arnold Houbraken (1660–1719), Bakhuysen’s earliest endeavors as a draftsman date to 1650. The artist was strongly influenced by the works of father and son Willem van de Velde (1611–1693 and 1633–1707 respectively), the leading painters of seascapes at the time. When the Van de Velde’s immigrated to England around 1672, Bakhuysen became the foremost painter in this genre.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.

Metropolitan Museum of Art