Willem van de Velde II (1633-1707)Born in Leiden in 1633, when he was fifteen Willem van de Velde II was apprenticed to Simon de Vlieger. De Vlieger specialized in painting atmospheric seascapes. This made him the counterpart of Van de Velde's father Willem I, whose work is characterized by its realism. Van de Velde II started out painting peaceful seascapes with fishing boats off the coast. In 1672 he and his father left Amsterdam and settled in England, and Van de Velde II switched to other subjects. He stayed with the maritime genre, but concentrated primarily on portraits of the English royal yachts and warships. Van de Velde was also commissioned by the English king to make several paintings of battles at sea. |
