ISAAC WILLAERTS (Utrecht circa 1620 – Utrecht 1693)
A Dutch Three-Master and a Papal Galley with other Shipping Along the Coast of a Fortified Town
signed J. willaerts. f / 1662 in the lower left
oil on panel
17.9 x 28.7 inches (45.5 x 73 cm.)
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, The Netherlands
Gallery Rob Kattenburg, Bergen, The Netherlands by 2018
LITERATURE
“Isaac Willaerts” on Wikipedia, illustrated, as from a private collection in 2011
“No country in the world had as many ships as the Dutch Republic in the seventeenth century”. During this time it is believed that about 40,000 seaworthy ships were built. Throughout the century maritime commerce flourished in Europe, the Baltic and the Mediterranean, with the Dutch setting up settlements and trading posts all over the world. Paralleling this, Dutch marine painting hit its apogee with many buyers being merchants involved in foreign trade.[1]
Isaac was the youngest son and pupil of Adam Willaerts, the leading Dutch marine painter in Utrecht during the first half of the seventeenth century. Like his father and brother Abraham, he specialized in maritime and coastal views. The eldest son Cornelis was a history painter. Isaac became a master in the Guild of St. Luke of Utrecht in 1637, an overman in 1666 – 1668, and dean in 1688.[2]
Isaac was strongly influenced by his father in compositional techniques, although he employed broader brush strokes akin to those of his elder brother Abraham. The precise colorful detail in the foreground and the horizontal coastal format in the present painting are characteristic of such compositions. Colonel Rupert Preston in his Seventeenth Century Marine Painters of the Netherlands dictionary categorized Isaac’s work as rare, with the possible explanation that they are often confused to be by either his father or brother.[3]
As is the case in this painting, ships and figures always occupy an important place in the oeuvre of this artist. Close to the rocky coastline a Papal galley identifiable by the Triregnum, the Papal Tiara formed by the three crowns symbolizing the triple power of the pope combined with the crossed keys of St. Peter the symbol of the papacy, is mounted on the stern of the boat. The flag is marked by the letters SPQR an abbreviation for Senātus Populusque Rōmānus (The Roman Senate and People). To the right of the galley is a Dutch three-master, the Amsterdam. The flying of its pennant from the main mast indicates a commander of a squadron is on board. In the left foreground a ship’s barge is at a landing stage with a trumpeter calling people to board. While the crew in the barge is drinking, farewells are being exchanged resulting in hugs and tears. Dutch and other European traders mingle with Turks and or Ottomans as well as a Moor, marking this port as a center of European trade. The numerous large vessels in the harbor further underline its importance. The rhythmic pattern of the waves enhances the overall charm of the scene.
Works by Isaac Willaerts formed part of the permanent collections of museums in Emden, Greenwich (London), Rotterdam, Schwerin, and Stuttgart.
[1] Jenny Gaschke, ed., Turmoil and Tranquility, the sea through the eyes of Dutch and Flemish masters, 1550 – 1700, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, 2008, pp. 16, 66, 180.
[2] Biographical information taken from Margarita Russell, “Willaerts” in From Rembrandt to Vermeer 17th – century Dutch Artists, The Grove Dictionary of Art, 2000, pp. 399-400; and “Isaac Willaerts” on rkd.nl (RKD Explore) website.
[3] Colonel Rupert Preston, “Isaac Willaerts” in Seventeenth Century Marine Painters of the Netherlands, F. Lewis, Publishers, LTD, Leigh-on-Sea, 1980, p. 70.