The Menil Collection The Menil Collection

The Netherlands has long depended on a close relationship with the sea. In fact, much of the country’s land was reclaimed from the ocean between 1590 and 1664. Beginning in the 16th century and continuing for more than two hundred years, Dutch shipping and trading created tremendous wealth for citizens, while naval battles against Spain and England established and maintained the country’s independence and economic dominance. In the same years, the Dutch art market generated a high demand for detailed, accurate, and attractive images of ships, seascapes, and bodies of water, such as this example from the studio of Adriaen Cornelisz van der Salm. The painting’s distinctive look is the result of a technique known as “pen painting” (penschilderijen) in which pen-and-ink and ink washes are applied to a ground layer of oil paint on canvas, or more often on panel as this example is. The city of Rotterdam, with the tower of the Church of St. Lawerence (Laurenskerke) in the middle, is visible in the background of this scene. On the southern bank of the river, not seen in the painting, was a whale-oil refinery. In the foreground on the right, we see a large whaler (a ship used to hunt whales) either arriving or departing from the refinery. The whaler is identified by the sloops (small, easily maneuverable sailing vessels) hanging one above the other, ready to be quickly lowered during a chase. In the years that van der Salm’s studio was active, Dutch whaling was at its peak, and its location in Delfshaven, a major whaling port, provided a ready market for his many depictions of the industry.