Seascape with Fisherman on a Beach

Location

Country: Chile
City: Santiago
Place: British Embassy

This small seascape by Jan van de Cappelle shows three fishermen in the foreground, one of whom surveys the coastal scene. The low horizon leaves a great expanse of blue sky above the water. Silvery light is reflected in the water and the scene has a sense of stillness and calm.

This work was purchased for the Government Art Collection from the collection of journalist and newspaper editor Sir Bruce Stirling Ingram (1877-1963), in 1963.

Dutch painter and draftsman Jan van de Cappelle was born in Amsterdam, to a wealthy family. He is thought to have been self-taught and painted mainly calm seascapes with shipping or winter landscapes. His works are noted for their impressive sunsets and evocative reflections in water. Among Cappelle’s friends were fellow Dutch painters Simon de Vlieger, Jacob van Dorsten, Frans Hals and Rembrandt. Cappelle’s style is said to have been based on that of Vlieger and he owned nine of Vlieger’s paintings and 1,300 of his drawings, as well as works by Rembrandt, Frans Hals and others. Cappelle died in his 50s, leaving considerable wealth to his seven children. Today, his works can be found in museums throughout Europe and America.

Places

Subjects

fishing boat, fisherman, genre, seascape/coastal scene, sky, beach, man, fishing net, oar

Materials & Techniques

canvas, oil, oil painting

Artist

Jan van de Cappelle (1626 - 1679)

Title

Seascape with Fisherman on a Beach

Date

1659

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

height: 25.50 cm, width: 18.50 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Sir Bruce Ingram, 1963

Inscription

dbl?

Provenance

Collection of journalist and newspaper editor Sir Bruce Stirling Ingram (1877-1963) and on loan to the Ministry of Works from 1952; from whom purchased by the Ministry of Works in 1963

GAC number

1493