Ludolf Backhuysen (1630/31-1708), Attributed to - Escena de Puerto

Excellent painting in its original carved, gilded and sgraffito-decorated wooden frame. View of a harbor where, after a battle, sailors are dismantling and repairing large warships. In the center are the remains of a tower. Ludolf Backhuysen (or Bakhuizen) (Emden, Hanover, December 28, 1630 – Amsterdam, November 17, 1708) was a Dutch painter. Bakhuysen began his career as an accountant. He had beautiful handwriting and loved arithmetic. While working for a wealthy Amsterdam merchant, he discovered such a strong inclination toward painting that he abandoned business and devoted himself to art. He first studied with Allart van Everdingen and then with Hendrick Jacobsz Dubbels, two eminent masters of the time, and his seascapes were soon praised. He was an ardent student of nature and frequently ventured out to sea in an open boat to study the effects of storms. His numerous compositions are almost all variations on the same theme—the sea—and are rendered in a style distinctly his own, marked by intense realism, or faithful imitation of nature. In his later years, Backhuysen applied his skills to engraving and calligraphy. During his lifetime, Backhuysen was visited by Cosimo II de’ Medici and Peter the Great. In 1699, he opened a gallery on the upper floor of Amsterdam’s famous City Hall. After a visit to England, he died in Amsterdam on November 17, 1708.
Dimensions: 70 x 96 cm