Circle of Abraham Storck (Amsterdam, 1644-1708), Naval Battles

Circle of Abraham Storck (Amsterdam, 1644-1708) Naval Battles (2) Oil on canvas, cm 59 x 69 With frame, cm 70 x 80 These two battles, rich in detail, contrasts and dynamism, can be compared to the glorious Flemish production of the Dutch Golden Age. In the seventeenth century, in fact, going hand in hand with the economic prosperity of the region, the arts also grew in terms of refinement, quantity and demand from patrons, eager for new subjects that moved away from religious depiction, opposed moreover by the rigid Calvinist norms, and showed aspects of real life and the world closest to them: genre scenes, portraits, still lifes and landscapes, with all their variations, were widely represented, through a typically Flemish realism. In the branch of landscape painting we also find maritime scenes, such as ports, coastal landscapes but also naval battle scenes, spectacular and swirling for the quantity of figures and coloristic contrasts. The two battles that we can observe here represent some of the most important naval powers in European history: the first painting concerns the naval battle of Augusta or Agosta, in Sicily, of April 22, 1676, between Dutch, led by Admiral De Ruyter, and French, led by Admiral Duquesne. In the painting, in fact, we see the Dutch sloop bringing De Ruyter's body back to land. The second painting refers to the naval battle of June 21, 1655, which took place in the Dardanelles Strait between the Turkish and Venetian fleets during the war of Candia, with the lagoon troops led by Lazzaro Mocenigo who triumphed destroying all the Ottoman ships, set on fire, except for three vessels called Sultane, which were captured and brought to Venice. Maritime subjects, including battles, saw a huge increase, with even artists specializing in this specific genre: Hendrick Cornelisz Vroom (c.1562 –16409, considered the founder of maritime painting in Holland, Willem van de Velde the Elder and the Younger, his son, Andries van Eertvelt (1590 –1652) Abraham Storck (1644-1708), to an artist orbiting in his circle should be referred to the present pair of paintings. Born in Amsterdam, he opened his workshop around 1666, also creating landscapes and urban views. In 1670 he traveled to Germany with his brother Jacob. After Willem van de Velde left for England in 1673, Abraham Storck became, together with Ludolf Bakhuisen, the most prestigious marine painter in Holland. In addition to views of the Dutch coast and rivers, naval battles and other depictions, he painted a number of views of Mediterranean ports. The gray and blue colors that dominate in the paintings under examination are those for which Storck was particularly praised even by ancient sources. See also the revival of a peculiar characteristic of Stock, namely the tendency to represent the tears in the typical swollen sails with quick strokes of white. The shape of the ships' keel, the movement of the flags and the way of painting the placid waves of the sea fall within his catalog.