Isaac Willaerts Utrecht circa 1620 - 1693

With Robert Noortman, Hulsberg/London (according to labels on the reverse).

The actual painting is warmer and less blue in tone than the catalogue illustration suggests. The canvas has a rather new, stiff relining. No major damages seem to be apparent. A few discoloured retouchings are clearly visible in the sky along the left edge, in the centre, and to right. However, the paint surface seems to be in good condition. Especially the figures to the foreground in the lower left are very nicely preserved. The paint surface is under a fine craquelure pattern. The painting is under a slightly yellowed layer of varnish. Inspection under ultra violet light confirms the retouchings as mentioned above, and reveals additional tiny retouchings in the sky, a small patch of retouching in the water along the right edge, and some minimal strengthening in the rocks along the lower edge. Offered in a decorative carved gilt wood frame in good condition. (MW)
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Isaac was the second son of Adam Willaerts (1577-1664), the leading Dutch marine painter in Utrecht during the first half of the 17th Century. He became the dean of the Guild of St. Luke in Utrecht in 1666, two years after the death of his father who had, in turn, founded the Guild in that city in 1611. Adam was strongly influenced by Hendrick Cornelisz. Vroom (1563-1640), the father of Dutch marine painting, and the influence of both Vroom and his father resound throughout the oeuvre of Isaac. While strongly dependant on the compositional techniques of his father, Isaac's works are characterised by broader brushstrokes akin to those of his elder brother Abraham. As well as his own numerous coastal landscapes, such as the present work, Isaac also contributed the backgrounds to many of Willem Ormea's fish still lifes.