Hendrick van Minderhout
1632 – 1696
Dutch Shipping at Anchor with a States Yacht in the Foreground and other Men-o-War behind
Medium:
Oil on Canvas
Category:
Dimensions:
105(h) x 114(w) cms
Framed Dimensions:
118.5(h) x 127(w) cms
Signed:
Signed: 'HV MiNDERHOUT"
Essay:
Hendrick van Minderhout was born in Rotterdam, but it is not known to which artist's studio he was apprenticed. By 1652 he is recorded as living in Bruges and he seems to have remained there for 20 years, although the RKD records him as possibly being in Italy in 1653. He was elected a member of the Guild of St Luke in 1663. Minderhout married Marguerite van der Broecke in 1664. However, she appears to have subsequently died; records show that, again in 1672, he travelled to and settled in Antwerp, where he remarried in 1673. Minderhout was to have five children by his second wife. Two of his sons, Anton and Willem, went on to become painters in their own right.
Hendrick van Minderhout specialised in painting shipping subjects. His sea-battles and Roman town architecture and port scenes often depicting high built merchant ships at anchor were much admired and earned him a good reputation.
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This unusually large and impressive painting by Minderhout was presumably completed as a special commission. Numerous figures busy themselves on the Man-o-War which looks as though it is prepping for sail, meanwhile a trumpeter on the States yacht announces the arrival of an important passenger who may be about to step on board the warship.