Willem Van de Velde the Younger (Dutch) (1633-1707)

Willem’s son, he is one of the most illustrious of all Willem marine painters. He was the pupil of his father and Simon de Vlieger. Like his father, he gave very accurate portrayals of ships, but is distinguished from him by his feeling for atmosphere and majestic sense of composition. He painted images in rich color of oil, paint, his complex designs were based on studies of his father’s ink drawings. Father and son shared a studio in Greenwich and set the standard for marine painters in England.

He left Amsterdam for England with his father in 1672 and in 1674 Charles II gave them a yearly retaining fee of 100 pounds each; the father received his “for taking and making draughts of seafights” and the son “for putting the said draughts into colours for our own particular use”. They did not switch their allegiance to England completely; both subsequently painted pictures of naval battles for the Dutch as well as the English market. Willem the Younger’s influence, however, was particularly great in England, where the whole tradition of marine painting stemmed from him.

A KAAG AND A SMALSCHIP UNDER SAIL

THE ROYAL SOVEREIGN AND OTHER SHIPPING IN A LIGHT BREEZE