Adam Willaerts, Beach Scene with Fishermen and Dutch Ships

Adam Willaerts

1577 Antwerp - 1664 Utrecht

Beach Scene with Fishermen and Dutch Ships

Oil on panel (parquetted). 32 x 54 cm.

Signed and dated lower centre: A. Willarts 1625 / fecit sutfehaniae (?). Provenance

Rhenish aristocratic ownership.

The unusual signature of this work by Adam Willaerts, dated 1625, could be a reference to the Cretan harbour town of Chania. This would correspond to the depiction of a Mediterranean coastline with Dutch ships unloading, and would express the pride of this trading nation in its global economic presence.

We would like to thank Dr Jaap van der Veen for his kind help in cataloguing this piece.