Dutch boats in a gale, circle of bonaventura peeters (1614-1652)

Circle of Bonaventura Peeters (1614-1652). Dutch boast in a gale. This highly detailed and atmospheric 17th century maritime oil depicts Dutch boats in a storm off a mountainous headland.

Shifting cloud formations and wild wave formations contribute to the impending sense of danger, from vessels on course for collision in tempestuous weather. In the foreground, sailors struggle with a boat which has run aground, and a vertiginous mountain landscape adds further to the sense of drama.

Bonaventura Peeters (1614-1652) Bonaventrua Peeters was the most celebrated Flemish marine artist of his time. Peeters was working in an artistically abundant period for the Spanish Netherlands, and his birthplace of Antwerp was a creative hub.

There was growing popularity for marine art and seascapes, cultivated by the neighbouring Dutch Republic, which was blossoming artistically during what is known as the Dutch Golden Age. It's possible Peeters spent some time working and gaining inspiration from the Dutch masters.

Examples of his work demonstrate the realism popular in the art of this time. Seaports bow to the majesty of the waves as ships roll into the coastline, sails billowing in the wind. His work also has a predilection to fall into the mannerist style still popular in the Spanish Netherlands.

This affinity for the sea has led some to speculate Peeters was a sailor. He often depicts scenes from further afield, such as Scandinavia and Russia. His works of the ‘New World’ and the Mediterranean, however, adopt a much more imaginative approach, and it is unlikely Peeters ever travelled to either place.

Before turning his attention to painting, Peeters was engaged in the business of topography. He provided maps for the local government depicting recent battles in the Eighty Years’ War, being waged in the name of freedom from Spanish rule. He also created sketches which would form the basis of Joan Blaeu’s ‘Atlas Maior,’ the largest atlas of its kind. It is clear Peeters was engaged in burgeoning trades at every turn. His appointment as a master of the Guild of Saint Luke, which allowed him to progress professionally as a painter, is demonstrative of his pre-eminence.

The Peeters family’s artistic horizons were as wide as the ocean. Bonaventura’s sister and brothers were also painters, as was his brother’s son. Peeters collaborated with his brother Gillis on a number of works. But it was Bonaventura Peeters who led the way on this artistic seafaring mission, and his works set the precedent. A number are now held in maritime museums and national galleries across Europe, fine examples of Flemish marine art. Peeters died in Hoboken in 1652.

This fine old master oil is in an excellent state of conservation having had a surface clean and minor retouch. It is ready to hang and enjoy in a later fine quality gilded antique frame

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Canvas: 25” x 19” / 64cm x 48.5cm Frame: 35” x 27” / 89cm x 69cm