VP4637

WILLEM HERMANSZ. VAN DIEST (? before 1610 – in or after 1668 The Hague)

Ships in a stiff Breeze on the River Ij before

Indistinctly initialled and dated on the buoy, lower centre: …D. /16… On canvas, 20½ x 28 ins. (52.2 x 71 cm)

PROVENANCE In the possession of the previous owner’s family for several generations, where it was thought to be by Willem van de Velde

Note: We are grateful to Dr. Gelinde de Beer for confirming the attribution on the basis of photographs. Also for her help in identifying the location and for suggesting a date in the late 1640s or early 1650s.

NARRATIVE The details of Willem van Diest’s early life and training are not documented, but he was probably born in The Hague around 1610. His earliest known signed and dated painting, A Shipwreck on a Beach, of 1629 (Walters Art Gallery, Baltimorei), reveals the influence of Jan Porcellis (1583/5-1632), a leading marine painter of the previous generation, who may have been his masterii. Whatever the case, van Diest was evidently well established as a marine painter by 1631, when he accepted a commission from the municipal council of The Hague to paint a picture representing a ship from Lubeck, which had been rescued by The Hague militia after it had been run aground by Dunkirk pirates at Scheveningeniii.

“Master Willem, painter of ships” (Meester Willem, scheepschilder), as he was described in the registers of the St. Luke’s Guild, was among the leading marine painters in The Hague in the seventeenth century. Although his contemporaries and Abraham van Beyeren both painted marines, they were not specialists in the genre. Van Diest’s surviving oeuvre on the other hand consists exclusively of cabinet-sized marine paintings. He developed a wide repertory of themes, including calms, beach and river scenes, stormy seas and his preferred subject, shipping in breezy conditions. The subtle atmospheric seascapes of the marine painter Simon de Vlieger evidently made a deep impression on van Diest as did the tonal marines of van Goyen. He nevertheless developed his own distinctive style, which is characterised by a somewhat monochrome palette. His son Jeronimus followed closely in his father’s footsteps, painting more or less the same subjects in a similar style.

In this fine example of his work, van Diest has taken a view from the water looking across a busy shipping lane. A stiff breeze is blowing, whipping up the foreground water and forming whitecaps on the crests of the waves. A narrow spit of land is visible in the distance on the right and a major seaport in the mid-distance on the left: the profile of a city church rises above the forest of masts. Various different types of vessels are manoeuvring at close quarters in the confined channel of water. In the centre, a flute (fluitschepen) under sail heads directly towards the viewer: another, flying Dutch colours lies at anchor behind it. On the left a small cargo vessel (probably a smalschip) is tacking into the wind and beyond it is a sloop, filled with passengers, going ashore. On the right, another sailing boat (probably a wijdschip) appears to be sailing into the path of the larger merchant ship. The sea beyond is dotted with the sails of smaller craft. A buoy bobs on the waves in the foreground.

We are grateful to Dr. Gerlinde de Beer who has been able to identify with certainty the location of the city seen in the background hereiv. Although van Diest has concentrated his attention on the various ships and sailing boats in the foreground, he has accurately depicted the approach to Amsterdam from a southerly direction. Only a sizeable harbour, such as that of Amsterdam, could offer shelter to as many large seagoing vessels as are assembled in the left background, but far more telling, is the gallows-field – the place of public execution – just visible on the far right, situated on the Volewijck, a spit of land on the north side of the River Ij. According to Dr. de Beer, this small motif would have been sufficient for a contemporary viewer to recognize the location. The church tower that one sees rising above the masts of the ships is that of the Westerkerk. Designed by the city architect Hendrick de Keyser and built between 1620 and 1638, its tower, measuring eighty-five metres (280 feet) was the tallest in Amsterdam.

There are few dated paintings by van Diest so the exact chronology of his oeuvre is uncertain, but Dr. Gerlinde de Beer has suggested a date in the late 1640s or early 1650s for the present painting. The restrained use of colour is typical of his work, as is the regular pattern of the tossing waves. In this painting van Diest creates a lively counterpoint between the restless motion of the sea and the billowing clouds above and enlivens the scene with a shaft of sunlight that illuminates the centre of the composition.

Willem van Diest is first cited in 1631 at the baptism of his daughter Adriana in the Grote or Jacobskerk in The Hague. This evidence of paternity and other records suggest that the painter was born around 1610 and probably lived in The Hague. The 10th January 1634 saw the baptism of another child, whose name is unrecorded, but it may have been his son Jeronimus, who was to become a marine painter like his father. In 1634, he became a citizen of The Hague and in the same year he was paid 72 Flemish pounds by the city magistrates for the picture of a ship from Lubeck, which was rescued by The Hague militia. In 1636 and 1638 two more children were born: Adriana, the first daughter having died in the meantime, and Catharina. Van Diest is first mentioned in the records of the St. Luke’s guild in 1639 as “Master Willem, painter of ships” (Meester Willem, scheepschilder) although he had probably joined the guild sometime before. A son, Joost, and a daughter, Elisabeth, were born in 1641 and 1644 respectively. Also present at their baptisms was Swaentje Coijmans, the painter’s legal or common law wife. In 1646, a son, Anthoni, was born, and in 1649, a daughter, Cornelia, at whose baptisms both the painter and Swaentje Coijmans were present.

Contemporary documents indicate that the painter was frequently in debt. In 1656, van Diest was among the founding members of the Confrèrie Pictura, an association of artists in The Hague which had broken away from the St. Luke’s guild. In 1657, he painted a marine for the boardroom of the brotherhood. In 1660, this painting became the subject of a dispute when the artist removed it from the chamber and the members felt obliged to have it brought back. His name occurs in a notarial document of 10 September 1663 stating that he would not be required to appear as a witness, but he was not present on 14 September 1664 at the baptism of a grandson named after him. It was therefore long assumed that he had died in the meantime, but the discovery of a signed and dated painting of 1668v indicates that he lived until at least that yearvi.

P.M.

i Willem van Diest, Shipwreck on a Beach, signed and dated 1629, on panel, 48.9 x 71.5 cm, Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, inv. no 37.877. ii In 1626, Jan Porcellis was living at Voorburg, near The Hague, and the following year he bought a property in The Hague as an investment. iii The incident occurred on 30 September 1631. The commission was carried out between 1631 and 1634 in which year van Diest received the sum of 72 Flemish pounds. See the exh. cat. by Jeroen Giltaij and Jan Kelch, Praise of Ships and the Sea: The Dutch Marine Painters of the 17th century, & Berlin, 1997, p. 233, note 8. The painting is not known today. iv Private communication, 29th January, 2014. v Sale, Phillips, London, 11-12 1990, lot 82 and sale, Phillips, London, 2-7 1991, lot 153. vi For the documents relating to his biographical details see: Jeroen Giltaij and Jan Kelch, Praise of Ships and the Sea: The Dutch Marine Painters of the 17th century, Rotterdam & Berlin, 1997, p. 223.