A Dutch Flagship at Anchor and a States Yacht underSail

Willem van de Velde the younger (1633-1707)
oil on canvas, 41.5 x 60.5cm
signed (lower right, on stakes of wood) with initials,W.V.V.

Characteristically for this painter's production, one of a pair.Its companion, the so-called Dutch Men o'War in a choppy sea, alsohangs at Boughton. The pair is dated c. 1664 by Robinson, beingpainted 'directly and accurately as regards the ships and vessels, aswould be expected for a picture painted in the 1660's'. The Statesyacht on the left bears the arms of Amsterdam on the taffrail; thepennant at the ensign staff may indicate a yacht of the admiralty.The ship on the right is one of the larger 60-gun ships, most likelythe Huis te Oosterwyck when Cornelius Tromp flew his flag in her inthe autumn of 1664.

An engraving (in reverse) by P. C. Canot was published in Londonon 1 December 1773 by John Boydell, as Light Air of Wind, 41 x58.4cm.

PROVENANCE by 1773 in the collection of George Brudenell, Duke ofMontagu; his daughter Elizabeth, who married Henry, 3rd Duke ofBuccleuch; thence by descent.

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