“Seascape” by Arnoldus van Anthonissen

“Seascape” by Arnoldus van Anthonissen depicts a three-masted battleship navigating through stormy waters out to sea. The fishing boat in front forms a counterbalance to the inclination of the mast and sail. The red color highlights of the clothing of the figures in the rowboat standout in the grey of the sky and sea. The signature “AA” can be found on the wooden pole that sticks mysteriously out of the waves, on the bottom right.

Dutch Golden Age

The Dutch Golden Age led to the development of painting with subjects of still life, landscape, seascapes, and genre painting. Portraiture was also popular, but history paintings struggled to find buyers. Church art was almost non-existent, and little sculpture of any kind was produced. The growing number of wealthy Dutch middle-class and prosperous mercantile patrons was the driving force in the popularity of certain pictorial subjects. Seascapes reflected the sources of trade and naval power that mark the Republic’s Golden Age.

The secret to the Dutch Maritime Strenght

In the 17th century, the Dutch, who were traditionally able seafarers and keen mapmakers began a growing trade with the Far East. It gained an increasingly dominant position in world trade, a position previously occupied by the Portuguese and Spanish.

In 1602, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) was founded. It was the first-ever multinational corporation, financed by shares that established the first modern stock exchange. The Company received a Dutch monopoly on Asian trade, and it became the world’s largest commercial enterprise of the 17th century. Spices were imported in bulk and brought huge profits due to the risks involved and the insatiable demand.

The primary source of wealth for the Republic was, in fact, its trade with the Baltic states and Poland. The Dutch imported enormous amounts of bulk resources like grain and wood, stockpiling them in Amsterdam so Holland would never lack essential goods, as well as being able to sell them on for profit to countries that did not stockpile and faced a crisis.

Arnoldus van Anthonissen

Arnoldus van Anthonissen (1631 – 1703) was a Dutch Golden Age marine painter. In 1663, he moved to Zierikzee and became a member of the Guild of St. Luke in Middelburg from 1665-1669. He is known for seascapes and maps. Anthonissen also worked as a house and marble painter and art dealer.