Willem van de Velde the Younger

Portrait of Van de Velde in 1672 by Lodewijk van der Helst

Willem van de Velde the Younger (bapt. 18 December 1633, Leiden – 6 April 1707, London), was a Dutch painter.

A son of Willem van de Velde the Elder, also a painter of sea-pieces, Willem van de Velde, the younger, was instructed by his father, and afterwards by Simon de Vlieger, a marine painter of repute at the time, and had achieved great celebrity by his art before he came to London. In 1673 he moved to England, where he was engaged by Charles II, at a salary of £100, to aid his father in "taking and making draughts of sea-fights", his part of the work being to reproduce in color the drawings of the elder van de Velde. He was also patronized by the Duke of York and by various members of the nobility. He died in London.

Most of Van de Velde's finest works represent views off the coast of Holland, with Dutch shipping. His best productions are delicate, spirited and finished in handling, and correct in the drawing of the vessels and their rigging. The numerous figures are tellingly introduced, and the artist is successful in his renderings of sea, whether in calm or storm.

There are a number of van de Velde's marine paintings in the Wallace Collection, London, including "The Embarkation of King Charles II at Scheveningen, 1660".

Gallery

• 
  The Battle of Texel, painted 1683
• 
  The burning of the Royal James at the Battle of Solebay
• 
  The cannon shot, painted c. 1670
• 
  HMS Resolution in a gale, painted c. 1678
• 
  HMS St Andrew at sea in a moderate breeze, painted c. 1673
• 
  Ships riding quietly at anchor c.1670s

References

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

Links

• National Maritime Museum biography includes link to paintings in their collections

• National Maritime Museum portal for their van de Velde drawings on line one of the largest collections, 1500 items of which 837 are illustrated.