Willem van de Velde II Leiden 1633 - 1707 London

Enrico Fattorini (1878-1949);
Thence by descent.

Willem van de Velde the Younger was a precocious painter, and many of his famous calms were painted while he was still in his twenties and working in his father's studio. Typically, as here, these would depict Dutch coastal craft at low tide among the sand banks of the northern Dutch coast. Van de Velde seems to have begun painting calms in the early to mid-1650s and continued to make a speciality of them for at least a decade, returning to the theme less frequently for the rest of his career. The present painting, which also belongs to this early period, shows many of the qualities that brought Van de Velde fame: the beautifully drawn vessels, each carefully placed in the composition in order to create an atmosphere of calm tranquility, and charming incidental details such as the school of dolphins breaking the surface in the lower right hand corner. Although such works are very hard to date with accuracy, a date in the early 1660s seems most likely for the present work, the brighter colours helping distinguish it from Van de Velde's work of the previous decade.  

The late Michael Robinson, who examined this painting at first hand in 1992, two years after the publication of his comprehensive monograph on the Van de Veldes, described it as being largely painted by Willem van de Velde the Younger while working in his father's studio. He noted that the angular letters of the signature form are typical of the younger Van de Velde at this date.

This is one of two works by Van de Velde acquired by Enrico Fattorini. The other, a slightly earlier panel of circa 1655, was sold in these rooms, 3 July 1996, lot 9. For a more detailed description of Enrico Fattorini's activities as a collector, please see the note to lots 74 and 75 in this sale.