Offered by Antichità Castelbarco
Jan Porcellis (Ghent 1584 c. - Zoeterwoude-Dorp 1632) attributable
Stormy Seascape with Ships
Oil on canvas 73 x 96 cm In frame 91 x 115 cm
Dorotheum Vienna, Old Master Paintings, 15 December 2020, lot 152, estimate €10,000-15,000 (link)
Lempertz Cologne, Paintings and Drawings 15th - 19th C., lot 1030, estimate €12,000-16,000 (link)
This evocative seascape depicts a large galleon attempting to continue its course with its sails partially lowered despite the high waves of the storm it has encountered. In the distance, two other ships, part of the same convoy, are also at the mercy of the waves.
The work's pictorial style allows it to be attributed to Jan Porcellis (Ghent circa 1584 - 1632 Zoeterwoude-Dorp), a painter of the Dutch Golden Age who specialised in seascapes and is considered a precursor of this pictorial genre.
Among the various types of seascapes, a very popular and appreciated genre in 17th-century Dutch painting, there is one that depicts the open sea in stormy weather, where the artists aimed to highlight the vulnerability of man in the face of the power of nature: and it is precisely the human effort to dominate the elements that is the central theme of our painting.
Our view is typical of the master, with his classic compositional style that made him highly appreciated at home and abroad: the emphasis is on the atmospheric effects of the sky, clouds, air and water, rather than on the sailing ships, with dark clouds on the left enhancing the atmospheric effect.
Porcellis' contribution to Dutch art also lies in his emphasis on the effects of light: the composition is enveloped in a strong luminosity, with a cloud-laden sky from which flashes of light spread out, reverberating on the water and illuminating the foaming waves, highlighting the three-dimensionality of the painting.
Strong contrasts of light and dark dominate the image and the colour palette is reduced to a few essential colours.
Delevery information :
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