early sea painters 1660-1730

Marine paintings really began in England with the arrival of the Van de Veldes (father and son) from Holland in 1673. They established a studio of British marine painting which was such a success that additional assistants were taken on. The Van de Veldes so dominated the world of marine painting that work by other attractive and competent marine artists working in England at the time received little attention. This relatively unknown group, which is the real subject of this important book, included Isaac Sailmaker, Jacob Knyff, J. K. D. van Beecq, Adrian van Diest, L. Castro, L. D. Man and H. and R. Vale. Pictures by these painters have been appearing in British sale rooms more frequently and their work is increasingly sought after by collectors. The book’s wealth of fine illustration is included to demonstrate a particular painter’s range as well as the characteristics of his technique. Important major pictures are obviously better known while the smaller, more run-of-the-mill works, often no less charming, have, hitherto, not received as much attention. These smaller often more typical efforts are illustrated alongside the major ones thereby enabling the reader to make useful and, for the first time, direct comparisons between the painter’s own work and that of his contemporaries.