Hendrick Cornelisz. Vroom

( Haarlem  1566 - 1640 )

Beach scene with a view of Scheveningen

oil on panel, 36.6 x 62.4 cm
signed and dated on driftwood l.l.: vroom 1623

Hendrick Vroom is regarded as the grand old man of Dutch marine painting. He was the first artist to specialise in realistic depictions of ships and beach scenes, which are now of great documentary value. His paintings are peopled with numerous figures: seamen, soldiers, fishermen, elegantly clad burghers and children. It is not surprising, then, that his work was in great demand, even in his own day, despite the fact that the celebrated artist’s paintings were very expensive. According to one anecdote, he asked so much for one  historical picture that the thrifty patrons awarded the commission instead to his equally famous colleague Cornelis Claesz. van Wieringen.
                                                                          
The beach scene shows fishing boats returning with their catch. Men carry the fish in baskets to the beach, where a few well-dressed people await them. On the right is a shrimper. The large ship in the background is probably an armed man-of-war guarding the fishing fleet.

This very precisely executed painting is a good example of Vroom’s mastery, and gives us a glimpse of life on the beach 400 years ago.

Provencance:
J. van Duijvendijk, [[M1]] Scheveningen, 1963

Literature::
L.J. Bol, Die Hollandische Marinemalerei des 17. Jahrhundert, Braunschweig 1973, p. 13, note 27.
M. Russell, Visions of the Sea: Hendrick C. Vroom and the Origins of Dutch Marine Painting, Leiden 1983, p. 155, fig. 138a.
J. Giltaij and J. Kelch, Lof der zeevaart: de Hollandse zeeschilders van de 17de eeuw, Rotterdam & Berlin 1996, pp. 90-91, no. 5, ill.