File:Dutch Ships in a Gale RMG L9749.jpg
![File:Dutch Ships in a Gale RMG L9749.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Dutch_Ships_in_a_Gale_RMG_L9749.jpg/734px-Dutch_Ships_in_a_Gale_RMG_L9749.jpg?20170922020714)
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Captions
Captions
Summary
[edit]Jan Porcellis: Dutch Ships in a Gale
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Artist |
artist QS:P170,Q640415 |
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Title | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Object type |
painting object_type QS:P31,Q3305213 |
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Genre |
marine art ![]() |
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Description |
English: Dutch Ships in a Gale A three-masted merchant ship, possibly a fluyt, is shown, in the centre, labouring before a storm in an open sea. It is in convoy with two other vessels. Two of the sails on the principal ship are spread and the mainsail is temporarily out of control after breaking loose in the wind. The topsails and lateen mizzen are furled. The foresail is drawing with the yard half lowered. Figures, facing leeward, can be seen attending to the rigging on the deck. On the left a square-rigged, single-masted boat follows astern of the leading ship. In this vessel a small figure, clothed in lambent red, is seated. The image is a consummate display of draughtsmanship. On the far left another large ship, travels under billowing main- and fore-courses, into the centre of the painting and towards the chaos generated by the gale. A barrel can be seen floating in the waves in the right foreground. The stern of another ship is faintly visible on the far right of the composition. The rest of this vessel has been cut off by the edge of the painting. As in other works by Porcellis (see BHC0719 and BHC0720) the emphasis is less on the ships themselves than upon the atmospheric effects of sky, clouds, air and water. The sky occupies half the scene. On the right dark clouds enhance the atmospheric effect. All aspects of the painting are rendered in virtually identical shades of dark grey. As the sea meets sky at the horizon, in the middle of the painting, the two merge into one another. Only the foamy white crests of the waves distinguish the sky from sea. The painting is a masterful example of the graeuwtjes or ‘little-grey-in-grey-paintings’ which became an instantly recognizable mainstay of Porcellis’ work during his sojourn in Antwerp. In Thomas de Keyser’s portrait of Constantijn Huygens, 1627, (National Gallery, London) a framed painting above Huygens’ mantelpiece is probably such a work by Porcellis. Indeed the painting depicted on Huygens’s mantelpiece resembles closely the present painting. That a noted artist and connoisseur like Huygens should choose to be depicted next to the work of Porcellis is indicative of the marine painter’s high standing among his contemporaries. More significantly, the works of Porcellis were to be found in large numbers in the personal collections of numerous artist-collectors including Rubens, Rembrandt and Allaert van Everdingen. There are different ways to look at this situation of a ship in a storm because the mainsail that has got loose can express quite opposite things. It can show either the helplessness of humans in the hands of God or it can demonstrate the outstanding sailing techniques of the Dutch people. It is probable that the skilled Dutch sailors loosened the mainsail to keep the ship under control. This is suggested by M. Russell in a review of the book of L.O. Goedde of 1989 in 'Burlington Magazine' 132, 1990, p.423-4. Elsewhere the ship, depicted in this painting, is described as the ship of soul or the ship of fate. Christopher Brown has suggested that the painting may be read as an allegory of faith. He alludes obliquely to Hulsius’s ‘Emblemata sacra’. Hulsius’s text, published in the Netherlands in 1631, depicts an analogous image. It is accompanied by Psalm 107:23–32 as well as the declaration that God ‘commands and raises the stormy wind’ and that, by the same token, God also ‘calms the storm’. Jan Porcellis has long enjoyed the reputation established for him by the seventeenth century artist and author Samuel van Hoogstraten, who hailed him as ‘the great Raphael of sea painting’. The son of a Flemish Protestant captain, Porcellis was probably born around 1584 in the city of Ghent. Where – and with whom – he trained remains unknown. Although Houbraken asserted that he was apprenticed in Haarlem to Hendrick Cornelisz Vroom. A lack of documentary evidence surrounding Porcellis’ early work, coupled with a distinct incongruity between the works of the two artists, has made this statement difficult to substantiate. Porcellis is likely to have lived and worked in both London and Rotterdam during the early seventeenth century, before leaving to find greater professional success in Antwerp. He entered the Antwerp Guild of St Luke in 1617, before moving back to Haarlem in 1622. Porcellis became an immensely successful painter, whose wise investments included several properties in the town of Zoeterwoude. His final pictures were painted in 1631 and he died in January 1632. This painting is signed on the barrel on the right with monogram 'IP'. |
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Date |
circa 1620 date QS:P571,+1620-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1480,Q5727902 |
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Medium |
oil on panel ![]() |
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Dimensions | Frame: 440 mm x 534 mm x 90 mm;Overall: 2.8 kg;Painting: 282 mm x 410 mm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Collection |
institution QS:P195,Q7374509 |
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Accession number |
BHC0721 |
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Notes |
Signed on the barrel on the right with monogram ‘IP’ Within the Museum’s Loans Out Policy there is a presumption against lending panel paintings. Please consult Registration for further details. |
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References | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source/Photographer | http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/12213 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Permission (Reusing this file) |
The original artefact or artwork has been assessed as public domain by age, and faithful reproductions of the two dimensional work are also public domain. No permission is required for reuse for any purpose. The text of this image record has been derived from the Royal Museums Greenwich catalogue and image metadata. Individual data and facts such as date, author and title are not copyrightable, but reuse of longer descriptive text from the catalogue may not be considered fair use. Reuse of the text must be attributed to the "National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London" and a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-SA-3.0 license may apply if not rewritten. Refer to Royal Museums Greenwich copyright. |
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Other versions |
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Identifier InfoField | Acquisition Number: OP1963-40 Ingram number: 6 Spoliation ID: 22192 id number: BHC0721 |
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Collection InfoField | Oil paintings |
Licensing
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The official position taken by the Wikimedia Foundation is that "faithful reproductions of two-dimensional public domain works of art are public domain".
This photographic reproduction is therefore also considered to be in the public domain in the United States. In other jurisdictions, re-use of this content may be restricted; see Reuse of PD-Art photographs for details. |
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Date/Time | Thumbnail | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
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current | 02:07, 22 September 2017 | ![]() | 1,280 × 1,046 (1.6 MB) | Fæ (talk | contribs) | Royal Museums Greenwich Oil paintings (1620), http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/12213 #1190 |
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Camera manufacturer | Hasselblad |
Camera model | Hasselblad H3DII-39MS |
Author | David Westwood |
Exposure time | 1/250 sec (0.004) |
F-number | f/13 |
ISO speed rating | 50 |
Lens focal length | 120 mm |
Headline | Dutch Ships in a Gale BHC0721 |
Copyright holder |
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Short title |
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Usage terms |
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Date and time of data generation | 12:24, 17 May 2016 |
Width | 7,200 px |
Height | 5,881 px |
Bits per component |
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Compression scheme | Uncompressed |
Pixel composition | RGB |
Orientation | Normal |
Number of components | 3 |
Horizontal resolution | 72 dpi |
Vertical resolution | 72 dpi |
Data arrangement | chunky format |
Software used | Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Macintosh) |
File change date and time | 12:02, 2 August 2016 |
Exposure Program | Manual |
Exif version | 2.1 |
Date and time of digitizing | 12:24, 17 May 2016 |
APEX shutter speed | 7.9657842814922 |
APEX aperture | 7.4008794352412 |
Maximum land aperture | 4 APEX (f/4) |
Subject distance | 1.874 meters |
Metering mode | Other |
Flash | Flash did not fire |
Color space | Uncalibrated |
Focal plane X resolution | 1,470.59 |
Focal plane Y resolution | 1,470.59 |
Focal plane resolution unit | 3 |
Focal length in 35 mm film | 84 mm |
Lens used | HC 120 |
Serial number of camera | DM58244248 |
Date metadata was last modified | 13:02, 2 August 2016 |
Unique ID of original document | xmp.did:45BB3296272068118083A8C8EF35FB06 |
Copyright status | Copyrighted |
IIM version | 4 |