Lot 64: Isaac Willaerts Utrecht circa 1620 - 1693 , A beach scene with fishermen unloading the catch, two dutch merchant ships beyond oil on canvas

signed lower left: J. willarts. f. oil on canvas

measurements note 67.9 by 87.3 cm.

With Robert Noortman, Hulsberg/London (according to labels on the reverse).

Isaac was the second son of Adam Willaerts (1577-1664), the leading Dutch marine painter in Utrecht during the first half of the 17th Century. He became the dean of the Guild of St. Luke in Utrecht in 1666, two years after the death of his father who had, in turn, founded the Guild in that city in 1611. Adam was strongly influenced by Hendrick Cornelisz. Vroom (1563-1640), the father of Dutch marine painting, and the influence of both Vroom and his father resound throughout the oeuvre of Isaac. While strongly dependant on the compositional techniques of his father, Isaac's works are characterised by broader brushstrokes akin to those of his elder brother Abraham. As well as his own numerous coastal landscapes, such as the present work, Isaac also contributed the backgrounds to many of Willem Ormea's fish still lifes.