Lot 149: ADRIAEN VAN DIEST 1655-1704

signed l.c.:AV (in monogram) Diest

oil on canvas

133 by 100 cm., 52 1/4 by 39 1/2 in.

Adriaen Van Diest was the son and pupil of the marine painter Willem Van Diest. He emigrated to England circa 1672, at about the same time as the Van de Veldes, and sought patronage under the reign of King Charles II who had invited artists from Holland to come and work in England. There was a growing market for portraits and marine pictures which could not be supplied by a native market, and it seems likely that Van Diest entered the Van de Velde studio, probably studying under Willem the Younger.