Ludolf Bakhuizen, Dutch, 1630-1708
Title: The Arrival of the Kattendijk at Texel, 22 July 1702
Date: 1702
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
133 x 111 cm
Signed: lower left: L. Bak
lower right: 1702
Credit Line: Purchased, 1883
Object Number: NGI.173
DescriptionThe Kattendijk was a 759-tonne ship of the Dutch East India fleet, built at Zeeland in 1694 and here identified by name on the stern of the largest ship. on 28 November 1701 she left Batavia with 90 sailors and 25 soldiers. After rounding the Cape of Good Hope in February 1702, she returned in a fleet of 19 ships, including the Sion, seen to the left. The vessels are depicted on the Marsdiep, a silt-free channel between the Dutch mainland and the Island of Texel. For all the choppy water, the ships dominate the sea and constitute a display of Dutch naval strength. This work was painted not long after the event took place.
Born in northwest Germany, Bakhuizen first trained as a clerk before joining a trading house in Amsterdam, where his fine handwriting was noticed. The artist probably studied with the marine painters Hendrick Dubbels and Allaert van Everdingen to learn how to paint in oil. Strongly influenced by the Van de Velde family, Bakhuizen succeeded them to become the leading Dutch maritime painter following their departure to London in 1672.
March 2016
Born in northwest Germany, Bakhuizen first trained as a clerk before joining a trading house in Amsterdam, where his fine handwriting was noticed. The artist probably studied with the marine painters Hendrick Dubbels and Allaert van Everdingen to learn how to paint in oil. Strongly influenced by the Van de Velde family, Bakhuizen succeeded them to become the leading Dutch maritime painter following their departure to London in 1672.
March 2016
ProvenancePurchased, Christie's, 10 April 1883, F.W. Reynolds sale, lot 78
Exhibition HistoryDutch Paintings of Golden Age from the Collection of the National Gallery of Ireland, Charles W. Bowers Memorial Museum, Santa Ana, California; Midland Arts Council, Midland, Michigan; Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina; Center for the Fine Arts, Miami, Florida; IBM Gallery of Science and Art, New York, 1987
Die Handelswelt Der Niederlanden in Asien 1600-1800, Stadtgalerie, Bamberg, 9 October - 30 November 1988
Masterpieces of the Dutch Golden Age, Ulster Museum, Belfast, 12 September 2019 - 26 January 2020
Die Handelswelt Der Niederlanden in Asien 1600-1800, Stadtgalerie, Bamberg, 9 October - 30 November 1988
Masterpieces of the Dutch Golden Age, Ulster Museum, Belfast, 12 September 2019 - 26 January 2020
Label TextThe Kattendijk was a 759-tonne ship of the Dutch East India fleet, built at Zeeland in 1694. The largest ship in this painting, she is identified by the name on her stern. In November 1701 she left Batavia with 90 sailors and 25 soldiers. After rounding the Cape of Good Hope in February 1702, she returned in a ?eet of 19 ships, including the Sion, seen to the left. The vessels are depicted near the Dutch island of Texel. Strongly influenced by the Van de Velde family, Bakhuizen followed in their footsteps as the leading maritime painter after their departure to London in 1672.
Inscriptionlower right: A° Katten Dyck 1702