Abraham Storck (1644-1708)

A state yacht, three-master and other shipping near a Dutch city

signed 'Storck' (lower right, on a piece of driftwood)

oil on panel, 30,5x39 cm

Provenance:
-Auction, Sotheby Mak van Waay, Amsterdam, 18 November 1975, lot 201, as: 'Hollandse driemaster en vele andere schepen op de rede van Rotterdam' (cover of the catalogue).
-Auction, Christie's, Amsterdam, 4 May 1982, lot 250, as: 'Warships on the river Maas off Rotterdam'.
-With Kunsthandel Koetser, Zürich, where acquired by the grandfather of the present owners.

The turbulent weather conditions set the painting in motion. The clouds cast a shadow locally on the restless water. The centrally placed state yacht is in the spotlight and the boier is skilfully placed in its cast shadow. Central left Storck dynamically depicted a three-master, sailing towards the other ships. If we let our eyes wander along, more and more sailing boats and frigates loom into view, on the horizon the contours of a Dutch city are just visible.

The Amsterdam-born painter Abraham Storck is widely considered one of the greatest marine painters of the second generation Dutch School. Spending his entire life in his native city, Storck’s style shows the influence of prominent Dutch marine painters Willem van de Velde II (1633-1707) and Ludolf Bakhuizen (1630-1708), whom he is believed to have studied with. As usual in the late period of Dutch marine painting, Storcks use of colours sets off nicely against the grey overall tone. The picture is superbly finished using luminous glazes, which endorse the influence of Backhuysen. This panting is a great example of Storck’s exceptionally artistic observant qualities and his technological understanding of the ships he depicted.

Although this painting is executed on a slightly bigger panel, the composition and the depiction of the state yacht compares with Strocks A state yacht and boier yacht near the Dutch coast, sold at: Venduehuis, The Hague, 30 May 2018, lot 183 (Hammer price: 140,000 euro).