In short

Cornelis was the son of the first Dutch marine painter, Hendrick Vroom. He was a pupil and later assistant of his father. Following a family quarrel in the early 1630s Cornelis stopped painting maritime subjects and turned to landscape painting. Therefore his marine paintings are very rare.

The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London, holds a painting by Cornelis ‘s father, Hendrick, signed and dated 1626, that represents a comparable composition.

About Cornelis Hendricksz. Vroom

Dutch painter
Haarlem (or possibly Danzig) 1591/92 – 1661 Haarlem

Eldest son (of four children) and pupil of Hendrick Cornelisz. Vroom, generally considered as the first Dutch marine painter. Cornelis’ career started as an assistant of his highly successful father in the family workshop, painting maritime subjects.

It is thought that Cornelis travelled at a young age to Italy. He was back in Haarlem in 1617, where he remained until 1627. 

In 1628/29 he travelled to England: in November 1628 he was paid by the court of King Charles I “for work done and pictures painted”; he was back in Haarlem in July 1629, when he signed a deed over there.

Between 1630 and 1633 there was a family row between on one side the dominating father Hendrick, his wife and their son Frederik (1600 – 1667) and on the other side his eldest son, our Cornelis, and his younger sister, Cornelia. Cornelis and Cornelia left their parents ‘ house already in 1630: they lived together in Beverwijk for a short while. From 1631 Cornelis is documented in Haarlem, where he seems to have lived for the rest of his life to a respectable age.

As a result of this family quarrel Cornelis Vroom dropped marine subjects and chose fully for landscape painting. His contemporaries held him in high esteem for his landscapes. He strongly influenced his fellow Haarlem painter, Jacob van Ruisdael. In 1638 Vroom worked at the palace of the Stadtholder Frederick Henry in Honselaersdijk, near The Hague; he painted landscapes in compositions by Paulus Bor, Jacob van Campen and Caesar van Everdingen.

Cornelis’ eldest marine painting dates from 1615 (National Maritime Museum, Greenwich): it represents a naval battle between Spanish war ships and Barbary corsair galleys. His earliest landscape paintings, forest views, date from 1622 and from 1626; they were influenced by Adam Elsheimer and Esaias van de Velde.

About our painting

Our painting represents a Dutch ship firing her guns in a salute to the garrison of the castle on a cliff. The ship is depicted in port-bow view, displaying to us its minutely observed busy life on deck. This painting clearly shows the influence of Cornelis’ father, Hendrick. The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, near London, holds a similar view of a Dutch ship with a castle represented at right by Hendrick Vroom, signed and dated “1626”.

Although one can not identify the specific location of both paintings from father and son Vroom, one should not forget that Hendrick travelled extensively during the first half of his very adventurous life. The mountainous shores and the fortress might refer to the Kattegat, the narrow sea between Denmark (Jutland) and Sweden (Halland).

In these early Dutch marine paintings one often sees whales and large fish, as is the case here: at the lower centre swims a large fish, possibly an Atlantic Bluefin Tuna and in front of it one can barely see the contours of a deeper swimming whale.

Why should you buy this painting?

Because this very nice, well-balanced, early composition is one of the very rare marine paintings that are being fully attributed to Cornelis Hendricksz. Vroom.