CORNELIS LEONARDSZ. STOOTER (Leiden 1595 / 1600 – Leiden 1655)
Shipping in Choppy Seas Along the Coast with a Jetty, Beacon, and a Town in the Distance
signed on the driftwood in the lower center STO
oil on panel
15.7 x 24.6 inches (39.8 x 62.4 cm.)
Col. Rupert Preston in his Seventeenth Century Marine Painters of the Netherlands describes Cornelis Leonardsz. Stooter as “a rare master”.[1] Stooter spent his entire career in Leiden. It is unknown who he first studied under, but he certainly had contact with the famous marine painter Jan Porcellis. The city archives documents that in 1629 Stooter sold land and a house to Porcellis. In 1648 he was the first dean of the newly founded Guild of St. Luke in Leiden. Best known for his seascapes, Stooter also painted landscapes, genre, and portraits. His portraits included those of the Princes William I, Maurice and Frederick Henry of Orange, as well as the Kings of France, Sweden and Bohemia. Three portraits of dignitaries by Stooter were lost when the Leiden town hall burned down in 1929. His seascapes formed part of the permanent collections of the Gemäldegalerie, Dresden; National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, United Kingdom; and the Stedelijk Museum, Leiden.[2]
As shown in this panel, fishing vessels in choppy seas were a favorite subject of Stooter. Viewed between a close and distant shore, the artist has depicted a wide range of vessels. At the time of this painting’s execution the Dutch were at the height of its powers and a force to be reckoned with on the seas. “No other country in the world had as many ships as the Dutch Republic in the 17th century” which is estimated at around 40,000. By 1650 The Netherlands was the richest country in the world, and this prosperity was based on its maritime commerce. It was only natural that artists such as Stooter would record this explosion of activity on the high seas.[3] The constant inclusion of choppy seas in his works represents the omnipresent danger presented by the sea and the reality that fortunes gained could also easily be lost.
[1] Col. Rupert Preston, “Egmont Cornelis Stooter” in Seventeenth Century Marine Painters of the Netherlands, F. Lewis, Publishers, LTD, Leigh-on-Sea, England, p. 46.
[2] Biographical information taken from Col. Rupert Preston, op.cit.; Adriaan van der Willigen & Fred G. Meijer, “Cornelis Stooter” in A Dictionary of Dutch and Flemish Still-life Painters Working in Oils 1525 – 1725, Primavera Press, Leiden, 2003, p. 191; and “Cornelis Leonardsz. Stooter” on rkd.nl (RKD Explore) website.
[3] Jenny Gaschke, ed., Turmoil and Tranquility, The sea through the eyes of the Dutch and Flemish masters 1550 – 1700, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, 2008, pp.16, 66, 180.