Seascapes and Beach Scenes

Artist Willem van de Velde the Elder was a ‘war reporter’ who made eyewitness paintings of wellknown Dutch naval battles. His son William masterfully depicted calm as well as stormy seas. In the 18th and 19th centuries, artists Ludolf Bakhuyzen and Wijnand Nuyen painted dramatic scenes of ships in distress. Bakhuyzen even went to sea himself to gain a firsthand account of the effects of the weather on the water. Outside the Netherlands, Dutch art became almost synonymous with seascapes due to the paintings of Andreas Schelfhout, Louis Meijer and father and son P.J and J.C. Schotel. Clouds and the effect of light were a key interest of Hague School painters, and they focused more attention the harsh lives of the fisherfolk.