Skip to main content

Jan van de Cappelle, 'Vessels Moored off a Jetty', probably 1650-60

About the work

Overview

The sense of activity on the boats and the jetty give a greater sense of movement than in many of Jan van de Cappelle’s paintings. But, as is usual, the sea is flat and calm, giving subtle reflections of the vessels, the clouds and two porpoises swimming calmly on the left.

The pilings by the jetty and closer to us, blackened and dripping with weed, give a sense of age and permanence, almost as if van de Cappelle’s vision of the sea as calm and unthreatening is true. The geometry of their shapes, heavy and firm, is repeated – but with finer, cobwebby lines – by the masts, booms and ropes of the two vessels beyond them.

Sadly the condition of the painting prevents us from seeing the full misty atmosphere the artist intended to evoke through his subtle handling of the colours.

Key facts

Details

Full title
Vessels Moored off a Jetty
Artist dates
1626 - 1679
Date made
probably 1650-60
Medium and support
oil on wood
Dimensions
35.2 × 42.3 cm
Acquisition credit
Presented by the Misses Rachel F. and Jean I. Alexander; entered the Collection, 1972
Inventory number
NG6406
Location
Not on display
Collection
Main Collection

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

Images