Willem van de Velde the Elder

In an album of drawings primarily by William van de Velde the Elder and the Younger

M.S. Robinson, A Catalogue of Drawings in the National Maritime Museum made by the Elder and the Younger Willem van de Velde, Cambridge 1958, vol. I, p. 33

Laid down on paper. There is an old vertical crease line that runs down the centre of the sheet. The paper has discolored somewhat and there are areas of surface dirt throughout. There are some light brown stains to the centre right. There is an old pin prick hole to the upper right corner and a repaired tear to the right half of the lower edge. The four edges show signs of wear with a small loss to the lower centre partly made up. The medium is still reasonably strong throughout.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This drawing and the following lot belong to a fascinating group of some ten extremely early drawings by Willem van de Velde the Elder, where his style is, perhaps surprisingly for their date, astonishingly broad and powerful.  They were executed in 1643, in the northern ports of Texel and Den Helder, where the Dutch fleet had important bases; eight more sheets from the same date, and handled in the same way, are in the National Maritime Museum, Greewich, and one other is in the British Museum.¹

The earliest dated drawing by Van de Velde that is known was executed just five years earlier, in 1638, but for the most part, the artist's earliest works were meticulously precise 'pen paintings', or pen and ink drawings on vellum, so the raw power and energy of these remarkable, large drawings of 1643 comes as something of a surprise.   Nor can the style that we see here be explained through contact with other marine artists of the period.  Some very robust marine subjects are known by earlier, more Mannerist draughtsmen such as Cornelis Claesz. van Wieringen, and certain drawings by both Jan van de Velde II and Esaias van de Velde (who were related neither to each other nor to the Willems) are fairly expansive, but nothing in the work of either of these two masters can really be compared in style with the present drawing.    

1.  Robinson, op. cit., vol. I, p. 33, nos. 3-5, vol. II, nos. 748-752; British Museum, inv. SL,5214.53