“Choppy Waters,” watercolour by Michiel van den Broek (1776-1853) after a painting by Ludolf Bakhuizen. Size: 33.9 x 49.1 cm.
This finely executed watercolour is a copy of a painting by Ludolf Bakhuizen (1630-1708), which is part of the Van der Hoop legacy in the collection of the Amsterdam Museum. The banker Adriaan van der Hoop purchased the painting in 1840 for 3,500 guilders, noting the following in his cashbook: “Highly praised by connoisseurs and regarded more highly than my other painting by that master.”
It is uncertain whether, as was previously assumed, the Haarlemmermeer is depicted. The two flat-bottomed boats could also be sailing out of the Eemlander Gat on to Zuiderzee, with the churches of Spakenburg-Bunschoten on the right and, further in the background, the tower of the church in Nijkerk.
The Dordrecht painter Van den Broek himself contributed to the limited fame he enjoys today; he rarely signed his works and was unwilling to provide biographical information for Immerzeel’s ‘Levens en werken‘ when requested to do so by fellow artist Willem de Klerk. We know that he was born on March 18, 1776, as the son of Nicolaas van den Broek and Maria Joly. He received his training from Arie Lamme and Lamme’s son-in-law Johan Bernard Scheffer. In 1813, he joined the “Teekengenootschap Pictura‘ (drawing society) in Dordrecht. From the limited number of known works, a clear influence of Aelbert Cuyp is evident. Besides being a painter, he was also active as a painting restorer, earning considerable renown in that craft.
Price: Euro 4.950,- (incl. lijst)
