This modestly sized oval panel shows five ships in a storm on the open sea. The most prominent one, depicted in port-broadside view, in the centre of the composition, is struggling through the monumental rolling waves. The vessel appears to be in imminent danger, not only from the storm ripping loose its rigging, but from a gigantic whale raising its head out of the water immediately alongside. The whale menacingly blows water from its spout. People on deck seem in a state of horror and are shown graphically throwing their arms up in the air. One figure, Jonah, is pushed overboard. The busy, narrative character of the scene is aesthetically unified and channelled into an impression of great drama by both the green tonality of the sea and the clouded sky.

While the viewer is invited to respond to the dramatic imperative of the narrative of Jonah and the Whale, the painting can also be seen as an allegory, concentrating on the confrontation between man and nature. In Dutch marine paintings of this period, the presence of a whale or some other threatening sea creature acts as a reminder of the violence, mystery and danger of the sea. Artists sought to enhance the desperation of the figures on the storm-tossed ships, by combining the traditionally menacing Leviathan with the powers of sea and sky. Here, the ships appear caught in the vast flux of elemental nature. There are strong contrasts of light and dark and the swirling clouds and swelling waves suggest the intensity of the conflict. The dark sea evokes the fear of the dangers of the deep.

Adam Willaerts occasionally painted religious seascapes. Biblical subjects, such as the story of Jonah and the Whale or Christ preaching on the Sea of Galilee, have the longest iconographic tradition in Flemish and Dutch marine painting. These paintings had a straightforward moral message and were distinct from the more general allegorical scenes which were based on a range of emblematic motifs. Moreover the realistic depiction of nature reinforced the content of the story and provided an appropriate setting for it. In this painting, the depiction of the violent tempest almost overpowers the actual story, which has been reduced to tiny figures. Stylistically, both in the rendering of the waves and the adopted colour scheme, the painting relates to a slightly larger oval panel in the Rijksmuseum depicting a 'Shipwreck off a Rocky Coast' which is dated 1614. Here, the natural elements are in similar turmoil, putting the ships at their mercy.

Adam Willaerts was born in London in 1577. He is recorded in Leiden in 1585, in Amsterdam in 1589 and settled in Utrecht in 1597. In Utrecht he was involved in the founding of the local Guild of St Luke and remained closely associated with its management, frequently serving as its deacon. He had a number of apprentices and three of his own children, including Abraham, became painters as well. He occasionally collaborated with the still-life artist, Willem Ormea. Willaerts, renowned for his lively coastal scenes and his sea storms, presented a painting of a 'Storm at Sea to the Hiobsgasthuis' (Hospital of Job) in Utrecht, in 1628. He was buried in Utrecht in 1664. The painting is signed.