AERNOUT SMIT (Amsterdam 1641/42 – Amsterdam 1710)
Shipping Along the Coastline of a Town
Signed with initials AS on the small boat in the foreground
oil on panel
7.1 x 7.5 inches (18 x 19 cm.)
PROVENANCE
Rafael Valls Limited, London
In this idyllic view under a bright sky various ships travel calm seas along the coast of a sizable town.
Aernout Smit was probably a pupil of Jan Theunisz Blanckerhoff. He was married to Marietie Jans Weema, who ran a grocery store. When he posted the banns in 1663 prior to his marriage, he listed his profession as a sailor. By 1667 it is thought that he painted scenes on commission for the art dealer Laurens Cornelisz. de Coninck. By 1688 Smit was a member of the St. Luke’s Guild in Amsterdam. His primary focus was seascapes, but he also painted beach scenes and landscapes. Ludolf Backhuysen was a major influence on his work.[1]
Works by the artist formed part of the permanent collections of the museums in Bergamo, Bonn, Copenhagen, Darmstadt, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Mannheim, Nantes, Oslo, Rotenburg, and Schwerin, among others.
[1] Biographical information taken from “Aernout Smit” on rkd.nl (RKD Explore) website; and Aernout Smit,
The Kremer Collection at thekremercollection.com.