Jan Peeters, ‘Ships in stormy waters heading for harbour’

by Atelier Liesjes

Off the coast of a port city, ships are battling heavy swells. In the centre, a large, dark vessel rises out of the foam, its sails half-struck, its tall masts with flags leaning askew in the wind; a broad orange, white and blue flag flutters at the top. To the left lie a few smaller ships with bare masts and square sails that have come loose; to the right, near the rocks, a long rowing boat is trying to make its escape. Behind the surf, on the right bank, a town looms with a massive square tower, a dome and tall buildings rising above a stony shore. The water is almost black-green, with long white streaks of foam. The waves are painted with short, thick strokes, the foam almost like white blots.
The sky occupies more than half the canvas: layered, brown-grey clouds with a yellowish or pinkish glow here and there, as if the storm has just passed its peak. Peeters paints with a limited palette of umber, olive green, slate grey and off-white, and allows the light to fall exclusively on the crests of the waves and on the sails. This lends the scene a sense of grandeur and, at the same time, a certain unease: man is small in the face of the water, and the safe harbour lies within reach but has not yet been reached. A light mist hangs over the city on the right, as if the rain has just stopped.
Jan Peeters (Antwerp 1624 – Antwerp 1678) was the brother of Bonaventura and Gillis Peeters and one of the most prolific marine painters of his generation. In 1654, he became a master of the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke; he also produced drawings for prints and traded in art. His work is characterised by dramatic skies and finely detailed ships. A powerful, dark seascape that instantly lends cachet to a classic interior.