Ships In The Storm – Jan Theunisz Blanckerhoff (1628 – 1669)

Oil on panel. 17th century Dutch school attributed to Jan Theunisz Blanckerhoff.
In a composition featuring a maritime storm where the foam-laden waves seem to want to engulf the ships, Blanckerhoff offers the viewer a stormy sea where the dramatic effects are amplified by the diagonals of the masts, the waves that mask the outcropping reefs and luminous contrasts. The sky laden with dark clouds takes up two-thirds of the composition and sometimes opens up, revealing a dazzling light. By highlighting the struggle of tiny sailors against the elements, Blanckerhoff illustrates the uncertain character and the fragility of all human destiny subject to divine will and encourages a spiritual reading of his work. Our painting is the perfect iconographic illustration of the scenes of maritime storms painted by Jan Theunisz Blanckerhoff. His production, sometimes confused with that of his contemporary Ludolf Backhuysen (Emden 1630 - 1708 Amsterdam), aroused great enthusiasm in his time. Blanckerhoff's hand is not only identifiable by the typology of the painting, but above all by the particular design of the motifs and his way of painting. This is what distinguishes his works from those of Backhuysen whose early scenes of storms at sea show the influence of Blanckerhoff. Finally, misread signatures or monograms (LB versus IB) are the main reason why works by Blanckerhoff are unfairly attributed to Backhuysen.

The panel is slightly convex.
We have chosen to present the work to you in a 17th century Nordic blackened wooden frame.
Dimensions: 29.5 x 46 cm – 44.5 x 60.5 cm with the frame

Jan Theunisz Blanckerhoff (Alkmaar 10.01.1628 – Amsterdam 2.10.1669) teaches Aernout Smit (1640/41–1710) whose style is very close.

In museums:
Shipwreck in the storm, oil on canvas 48.5 x 59.5 cm, Staatliche kunsthalle Karlsruhe
Shipwreck off a rocky coast, oil on canvas 84 x 112 cm, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.
The Black Cloud, oil on panel 34 x 43.5 cm, Royal Museums of Fine Arts Brussels
Fresh breeze in front of a high coast oil on canvas, Statens Museum for Kunst Copenhagen