Lot 56: Abraham Willaerts , Utrecht circa 1603 - 1669 Shipping in a heavy storm along a rocky coast, with shipwrecked figures climbing on shore in the foreground, a view of a town beyond oil on canvas

signed in monogram and dated lower centre on the rock: A: W. / 1644 oil on canvas

measurements note 95.6 by 135.5 cm.

Sale, Amsterdam, Sotheby's, 6 May 1997, lot 47;
Anonymous sale, Paris, Tajan, 18 December 2002, lot 20 (both the above as by Adam Willaerts).

OTHER PROPERTIES
Abraham was the eldest son of Adam Willaerts (1577-1664), the leading Dutch marine painter in Utrecht. For a short period of time, Abraham studied with Simon Vouet in Paris and Jan van Bijlert in his native city Utrecht. However, he was most profoundly influenced by his father, to the extent that it is very difficult to distinguish between their paintings. Both Adam and Abraham specialised in marines and shore scenes with imaginary rocks, staffage and stylized waves. This painting is more likely to have been painted by Abraham because his refined colouring tends to be warmer and more layered than his father's. This creates an almost theatrical effect with the highlighted waves breaking on the rocks, and the clouds breaking open, and increases the dramatic tone of the picture.

1. See for a stylistic comparison between the work of Adam and Abraham Willaerts L.J. Bol, Die Holländische Marinemalerei des 17. Jahrhunderts, Braunschweig 1973, pp. 63-70.