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Marine painting, stylistically a branch of landscape painting, had a significance for the Dutch public since Holland's wealth and power largely depended on its sea-borne trade.. Probably the first artist to establish himself as a specialist was Hendrick Cornelisz. Vroom.
"The Arrival at Vlissingen of the Elector Palatinate Frederick V" is a characteristic painting by him. It was commissioned in 1632 by the City of Haarlem to commemorate the Elector's visit to the Republic in 1613 upon his return from England, where he married Elisabeth, the daughter of James I. It is a painting full of detail, mainly portraits of ships as they are about to anchor in the roads off Vlissingen (Flushing), which is shown on the horizon. Vroom has chosen a high viewpoint, to permit a broad and clear view; the little waves are painted with mechanical regularity.
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