Circle of Abraham Storck (Amsterdam, 1644-1708), Naval battles

Circle of Abraham Storck (Amsterdam, 1644-1708)

Naval battles

(2) Oil on canvas, 59 x 69 cm

With frame, 70 x 80 cm

These two battles, rich in details, contrasts and dynamism, can be compared to the glorious Flemish production of the Dutch Golden Age. In the seventeenth century, in fact, going hand in hand with the economic prosperity of the region, the arts also grew in terms of refinement, quantity and demand from the clients, eager for new subjects that moved away from religious representation, opposed by the rigid Calvinist norms, and showed aspects of real life and the world closest to them: genre scenes, portraits, still lifes and landscapes, with all their declinations were widely represented, through a typically Flemish realism. In the branch of landscape painting we also find maritime scenes, such as ports, coastal landscapes but also naval battle scenes, spectacular and swirling for the quantity of figures and color contrasts. The two battles that we can observe here represent some of the most important naval powers in European history: the first painting concerns the naval battle of Augusta or Agosta, in Sicily, on 22 April 1676, between the Dutch, led by Admiral De Ruyter, and the French, led by Admiral Duquesne. In the painting, in fact, we see the Dutch boat that brings the body of De Ruyter back to land. The second painting refers to the naval battle of 21 June 1655, which took place in the Dardanelles between the Turkish and Venetian fleets during the Candian War, with the Venetians led by Lazzaro Mocenigo who triumphed by destroying all the Ottoman ships, which were set on fire, except for three vessels called Sultane, which were captured and taken to Venice. Maritime subjects, including battles, saw a huge increase, with even artists specializing in this specific genre: Hendrick Cornelisz Vroom (c.1562 –16409, considered the founder of maritime painting in Holland, Willem van de Velde the Elder and the Younger, his son, Andries van Eertvelt (1590 –1652) Abraham Storck (1644-1708), an artist orbiting in his circle to whom the present pair of paintings can be attributed.

Born in Amsterdam, he opened his own workshop around 1666, also producing landscapes and cityscapes. In 1670 he travelled to Germany with his brother Jacob. After Willem van de Velde left for England in 1673, Abraham Storck became, together with Ludolf Bakhuisen, the most prestigious marine painter in Holland. In addition to views of the Dutch coast and rivers, naval battles and other depictions, he painted a number of views of Mediterranean ports. The grey and blue colours that dominate the paintings under consideration are those for which Storck was particularly praised even in ancient sources. See also the revival of a peculiar characteristic of Stock, namely the tendency to represent with quick strokes of white the tears in the typical billowing sails. His catalogue includes the shape of the keel of ships, the movement of flags and the way of painting the calm waves of the sea.