JAN BEERSTRATEN
1622 - Amsterdam - 1666
A Flute and other Vessels in a Fresh Breeze
Signed in monogram
On panel
21 ½ x 28 ins. (55 x 71 cms.)
Provenance
Brunner Gallery, Paris, by 1919;
Sale, Sotheby’s New York, 5th Oct 2001 (lot 117);
Private collection, London.
We are grateful to Dr Jan Kelch for confirming the attribution to Jan Beerstraten upon first hand inspection of the painting.
Beneath a sky of billowing cumulus, a Dutch flute and other vessels sail in choppy coastal waters. To the right, a small rowing boat rises in the swell, buffeted by waves whose crests spray in the wind. Beyond, a city skyline identified as Vlissingen is visible on the horizon.
This atmospheric and spirited painting is a beautiful example of Beerstraten’s tonal manner, and as a pure marine is relatively rare in an oeuvre which is dominated by winter views and coastal capriccios. Beerstraten’s skilful use of a warm ochre ground as a mid tone, coupled with his breadth of handling in the sky creates a highly evocative atmosphere, to which the artist has added a meticulous attention to detail in his rendering of the ships and staffage.
Jan Kelch, who dates the painting to 1655 – 60, points out that the sails of the flute (a type of merchant ship) reveal mends of a size indicative of cannon shots, surmising that the painting memorialises the return of a merchant ship to its native port after successfully surviving a battle. This interpretation is further suggested by the Dutch tricolours, proudly hoisted on all three masts, and the red “bloedvlag” (Blood Flag) which waves from the stern as a sign of war. Lightly armed flutes such as these were especially popular targets for English privateers, but they could also come under fire while providing logistical support for the Dutch admiralty.
Jan Beerstraten’s work is represented in numerous museums including the Hermitage, the Getty, the Louvre, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the National Gallery (London), the Rijksmuseum, and the National Maritime Museum (Greenwich).
BIOGRAPHY OF JAN BEERSTRATEN
Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraten was born in Amsterdam in 1622. In 1642 he married Magdalena Bronckhorst, with whom he had five children. His houses, first near the Haarlemmerpoort and later on the Rozengracht, were named ‘In‘t Schipbreuk’ (‘In the Shipwreck’). In 1665, following the death of his first wife, he married the 38 year old Albertje van Crale of Zwolle. The inventory of his estate drawn up in 1667 lists a large collection of paintings including works by Jan Porcelis, Philips Wouwerman, Jan van der Heyden and Pieter de Hooch.
Beerstraten is thought to have made several trips through Friesland, Holland and Utrecht, and the drawings he made during these journeys were later used in the preparation of his paintings. Beerstraten may have been a pupil of Claes Claesz Wou (1592–1665), a marine painter in the Flemish tradition, who seems to have influenced his paintings of sea battles. His southern ports and seashores were influenced by the works of such Dutch Italianate painters as Nicolaes Berchem and Jan Baptist Weenix. Most of his paintings are winter landscapes, coastal capriccios, and marines. His townscapes were mostly topographical winter scenes, while his ports were largely imaginary, sometimes with a well-known northern European building incorporated on the seashore.