In this depiction of what might be the Haringvliet estuary in the Netherlands, a warship and two smaller vessels with flying flags and pennants appear to be sailing quite swiftly across dark blue choppy waves that stretch the full width of the fore- and middleground. The impression of rising winds and an impending storm is created by the all-embracing darkness of the scene, which is lit only by the flashing white of the warship’s sails and the sunlit strip over the low horizon on the right. The sky’s towering rain-heavy clouds, with their almost solid appearance building up towards the upper right-hand corner of the composition, may actually have caused the painting’s attribution to Ludolph Bakhuizen’s artistic circle.

Bakhuizen, was born in Emden in 1630 and trained as a painter in Amsterdam under Allaert van Everdingen and Hendrik Dubbels. Since the 1660s, he had specialised in a new type of seascape with a heightened sense of drama, animation and contrast, which made him one of Holland’s most popular marine artists in the second half of the 17th century. He ran his own workshop with painters such as Abraham Storck, Gerrit Pompe, Jan Claesz Rietschoof, Hendrik Rietschoof working as his pupils and assistants out of which this painting might have originated.

Although it does not live up to the brilliance of Bakhuizen’s own works and is not as dramatic, this picture follows a certain artistic formula and combines the elements that made up a successful Dutch marine painting of the time. The composition is built around the motif of the ships and their manoeuvres in the middleground with the two strips of land on either side as a backdrop. The vessels are perceived at eye level as if the beholder is standing on another boat.

Although the brushstroke is very calm, the ships’ progression along different courses is emphasized by the underlying sense of movement and animation in the elements. The contrast of light and shade, and size and distance heighten this effect. The same is true for the colours; despite the general darkness, the colours of the sails and flags remain quite distinct, therefore marking a stylistic shift from the tonalism earlier in the century without sacrificing a natural impression. Emphasis is also given to detail as in the depiction of the warship’s stern, but at the same time it is not slavishly rendered. The artist enhances the specifically Dutch character of the scenery not only by the obligatory presence of national flags, but by breaking loose from topographical correctness into the realm of a capriccio, adding typical buildings such as the windmill on the right.