BACKHUYSEN, Ludolf
(b. 1630, Emden, d. 1708, Amsterdam)

Ships in a Stiff Breeze

1688-92
Oil on canvas, 45 x 62 cm
Private collection

In this balanced composition we see to the right a kaag (a coastal transport vessel). At the extreme left is a fluyt, the most successful trading vessel. Beyond the heavily armed two-decker warship in the centre is a wijdschip, and in the foreground, animated by a standing seaman and in the process of heading downwind, is a weyschuit.