Adriaen van de Velde (Dutch, 1636-1672)

Adriaen van de Velde was a prolific artist in spite of his short life. His father and Jan Wijnants were his teachers. He painted various types of landscapes (most notably some fresh and atmospheric beach scenes) and also religious and mythological works, portraits, and animal pictures. He also did exceptionally fine etchings of landscapes with cattle and often painted the figures into the landscapes of other artists, notably Hobbem and Ruisdael.  

His father was Dutch marine painter Willem van De Velde (circa 1611-93) who was the son of a naval captain, so he himself spent part of his youth as a sailor before devoting himself to the drawing and painting of ships. His pictures, which are frequently grisailles, contain faithful and detailed portraits of ships (of much value to naval historians) and for a time he was an official artist for the Dutch fleet. In 1672, when the Netherlands were at war with England, he went to London and entered the service of Charles II; why he left his country at a critical moment in its fortunes remains a mystery, but it corresponded chronologically with his son Adriaen’s death.

Both of his sons, Adriaen and Willem the Younger, were painters.