CORNELIS PIETERSZ. DE MOOY | DUTCH SHIPS ON A CHOPPY SEA

Cornelis Mooy is best known for his so-called ‘penschilderij’ - ‘pen paintings’, which imitate drawings in pen and ink. By contrast, the present work delights in the qualities of oil paint, the wet-in-wet brushwork in the foreground that evoke the choppy waves, preserved in exceptional condition. This is one of very few oil paintings securely attributed to Mooy and must count among the best examples of his work.

The red and white flag on the right-most boat is that of Dordrecht. Maritime paintings such as this were particularly popular in 17th-century Holland, unsurprising for a nation built on overseas trade and a country so criss-crossed with rivers and canals.