Willem van de Velde the Younger

Willem van de Velde the Younger is often mentioned in the same breath as his father, Willem van de Velde the Elder, who was a sailor in his youth and later became the official painter of the Dutch Navy. Willem senior’s impressive pen paintings demonstrate his astonishing aptitude for portraying ships in great detail.

With the help of his father, Van de Velde the Younger also developed into a marine specialist in the family workshop in Amsterdam.

Willem was then sent to study under the famous marine painter Simon de Vlieger, in whose bustling workshop in Weesp he further developed his artistic talent. His father never received such training. As good a painter and artist as Willem senior was, his son surpassed him.

Few 17th-century artists produced as many drawings as Willem van de Velde the Younger and the Elder: there are over 2500 in museums alone. These vary from independent works of art to studies of ships as raw material for paintings.

In the family studio the namesakes worked under a single brand name: 'W.V.V.elde' or 'W.V.V.', as can be seen on this flag. From around 1680 onwards, Willem van de Velde the Younger almost always added a ‘J’ (for ‘Jonge’, or Younger). He clearly saw himself as an artist with a distinct personality, and a studio brand name no longer filled the bill.

Willem van de Velde's three-year younger brother, Adriaen van de Velde, was also an artist and the two occasionally worked together. Adriaen, however, was not specialized in painting marines but rather landscapes.

Lodewijk van der Helst painted a portrait of Willem van de Velde, in which the self-assured artist is depicted holding a partially rolled-up drawing. Its elongated format is characteristic of the Van de Veldes’ drawings.

Between 1652 and 1674, the Republic of the United Netherlands was involved in four European naval wars. Recording victorious naval battles proved highly lucrative for the Van de Veldes. For 20 years they were the leading marine painters in Amsterdam, receiving important commissions from the Admiralty, among others.

When several neighbouring countries declared war on the Dutch Republic in 1672, also known as the ‘Disaster Year’, the market for marines in Amsterdam dried up. Willem van de Velde the Younger and the Elder emigrated together to England, where from 1674 they worked in the service of a very prestigious patron, namely King Charles II.

Demand for spectacular paintings of storm-tossed ships was great in England. Famous for his magnificent calm waters, Willem van de Velde the Younger’s work took a new direction. A Ship on the High Seas Caught in a Squall, Known as ‘The Gust’, is an impressive example of this later style. The 70-gun warship is in distress. A gust of wind has broken a mast, and a sail has come loose.