Julius Porcellis (Rotterdam 1610 – 1645 Leiden) attributable
Seascape with vessels
Oil on wood panel (oak)
52 x 84 cm - In a gilded wooden frame 77 x 108 cm
Full details of the painting (click HERE)
The exhibited painting depicts an evocative seascape in a storm: the rough sea crashes against a rocky cliff while some boats, including a small fishing boat near the shore and a merchant ship offshore, try to continue their route despite the weather conditions.
A typical subject of Baroque painting, the impetuosity of the sea was a very popular theme especially in 17th-century Dutch art, capable of representing the power of nature in a dynamic, exciting and dramatic way.
The resistance of the ships against the waves, where we can imagine the crew busy maintaining control, was intended as a metaphor for life, indicating a close but vulnerable interrelation with the forces of nature, often in contrast with the fragility of man.
The work presents a pictorial style and a compositional choice that, in our opinion, allow a clear reference to the hand of Julius Porcellis (Rotterdam 1610 – Leiden 1645), a painter of the Dutch Golden Age specialized in seascapes and the son of Jan Porcellis (1584–1632), from whom he was trained and under whose influence he remained throughout his life.
Even during the 17th and 18th centuries, painting connoisseurs found it difficult to distinguish between the work of the father and that of the son.
As we can find in numerous of his seascapes, Porcellis has depicted the stormy sea crashing on a high rock formation. Even the three-masted ship in the distance, known as a pinnace, with its sails lowered to protect them from the stormy winds, is a signature feature of his.
Our work can be compared, for example, to the painting ''Fishing boat in rough sea'', kept at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich (1). It can also be compared to the ''Expedition in rough sea'' from the Kingston Lacy Estate in Dorset (2), or to a work kept at the Lakenhal Museum in Leiden (3). Paintings by Julius Porcellis are relatively rare, especially on the antiques market; we can mention the work ''Ships in distress off a rocky coast'' that went through Christie's on 8.12.2023 (4).
(1) https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-12209
(2) https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/1257056
(3) https://www.lakenhal.nl/nl/collectie/b-1134
(4) https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-6458331?utm_source=mutualart&utm_medium=referral
Our view is typical of the master, with his classic compositional imprint that made him very popular at home and abroad, promoting a new style and subject in marine painting, focusing on cloudy skies and rough waters.
Porcellis's contribution to Dutch art also lies in his emphasis on the effects of light: the composition is in fact enveloped in a strong luminosity, with a sky full of clouds from which glimmers of light propagate, which reverberate on the water and illuminate the sparkling waves, highlighting the three-dimensionality of the painting.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The painting is sold complete with a pleasant frame and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a descriptive iconographic sheet.
We take care of and organize the transport of purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers.
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