The Evening Gun

Two dutch ships at sunset, in the left foreground a small cargo vessel has pulled onto shore while in the right distance a battleship has fired its cannon and is enveloped in white smoke. Willem van de Velde II (1633-1707) was the son of Willem van de Velde I. Around 1648 Willem II moved to Weesp to study under Simon de Vlieger, whose sombre and atmospheric seascapes were a foil to the more prosaic realism of his father’s work. In 1652 he was back in Amsterdam, and took up work in his father’s studio. Willem is celebrated for his exquisitely drawn ships, a careful regard for the placing of each vessel to create a satisfying composition and an atmosphere of serene tranquillity. 586-1882 is evidently a less accomplished and later, probably 19th century, work generally painted in van de Velde's style but without his precision or ability to capture luminous light effects. The 'Evening Gun' refers to the navy's evening firing of guns in the evening as signals in honour of persons, events or festivities.