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Notes
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Two ships are tossed against a rugged cliff face. While a third is forcibly spurred towards the cliffs by an overwhelmingly strong breeze that blows across the picture from left to right. The rocks, on the right, appear rigid and uninviting as they loom high above the sea. While the two central vessels are entangled in wreckage, the ship on the far left, although dangerously close to the cliffs, is upright and may still avoid the fate of the others. Significantly, this one flies three prominent Dutch flags, in contrast to the ragged English flag flying from the mast of the faltering ship in the middle. On its stern is a ‘Roode Leeuw’ or ‘Red Lion’, the emblem of Holland and the Dutch civic corporations. The terrain is most probably a fanciful Mediterranean landscape.
Like many similar storm and shipwreck scenes by seventeenth-century Dutch artists, this painting has an underlying moral message which picks up on ideas of the ‘ship of state’ or the ship as symbolizing the passage of life. A sturdy castle is built at the top of the cliffs, far away from the immediate peril. The castle and the buildings which flank it, surrounded by blue skies and flourishing greenery, appear idyllic. This is no coincidence: the symbolic value of the castle relies on an absolute contrast with the sea. The marked distinction between the tranquillity of the cliff top and the frenzy of the sea could scarcely be more pronounced. While the jagged rocks emerging from the water are symbolic of the ships’ annihilation, they are also positive symbols. The rocks are firm and enduring against the assault of the water that devastates the ships. The castle, strong, fortified and built high up on the rocks, represents protection and the hope placed in God. In the foreground bales and casks float away, perhaps reminders of the transience of worldly goods.
Title
Ships and a Galley Wrecked on a Rocky Coast
Date
c.1650–1660
Medium
oil on panel
Measurements
H 31 x W 40.5 cm
Accession number
BHC0842
Work type
Painting