A Dutch Yacht at anchor and a boat pulling in to the shore

On the left, a large bezan-rigged yacht lies at anchor while on the right a rowing boat carries several passengers towards the shore, where two more figures (one with a staff, the other crouching) await. Other ships populate the middle and far distance.

Although there are no annotations on the page, this unsigned graphite drawing may have served an instructional purpose within in the artist’s studio, as an exercise in maritime perspective by demonstrating the relative size of figures and vessels against a simple horizon. Compositional in character, it is loosely related to a number of the Younger’s calms but can only be attributed to the artist with caution.

Object Details

ID: PAE5264
Collection: Fine art
Type: Drawing
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Velde, Willem van de, the Younger
Date made: 1675?
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Measurements: Primary support: 135 mm x 195 mm; Mount: 318 mm x 482 mm