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| Keywords: Jan Peeters (I) - Ships and a Galley Wrecked on a Rocky Coast.jpg Artwork Creator Jan Peeters I Two ships are tossed against a rugged cliff face While a third is forcibly spurred towards the cliffs by an overwhelmingly strong breeze that blows across the picture from left to right The rocks on the right appear rigid and uninviting as they loom high above the sea This composition which is rendered meticulously and very highly finished is brightly lit at its core This emphasizes the fate of the small brown galley overset and driven towards the rock face before it Equally dazzling are the white crests of the waves beating against the cliffs in the background and behind the curious arch-shaped rock formation on the right Figures are depicted in a small rowing boat attempting to escape from their broken vessel One has successfully clambered onto a rocky ledge in the water In the foreground detritus floats among the waves a poignant reminder of a recently sunk ship While the two central vessels are entangled in wreckage the ship on the far left although dangerously close to the cliffs is upright and may still avoid the fate of the others Significantly this one flies three prominent Dutch flags in contrast to the ragged English flag flying from the mast of the faltering ship in the middle On its stern is a �Roode Leeuw � or �Red Lion � the emblem of Holland and the Dutch civic corporations The location of this highly charged scene is unknown Neither the nationalities of the vessels nor the soaring pale cliffs on the right which bear little resemblance to any typically Northern European landscape help us to identify the scene The terrain is most probably a fanciful Mediterranean landscape Peeters like many of his Flemish contemporaries eschewed historical accuracy in favour of commotion spectacle and high colour Like many similar storm and shipwreck scenes by seventeenth century Dutch artists this painting has an underlying moral message which picks up on ideas of the �ship of state � or the ship as symbolizing the passage of life As in Bellevois � depiction of ships in a storm hurtling towards rugged cliffs BHC0837 a sturdy castle is built at the top of the cliffs far away from the immediate peril The castle and the buildings which flank it surrounded by blue skies and flourishing greenery appear idyllic This is no coincidence the symbolic value of the castle relies on an absolute contrast with the sea The marked distinction between the tranquillity of the cliff top and the frenzy of the sea could scarcely be more pronounced While the jagged rocks emerging from the water are symbolic of the ships � annihilation they are also positive symbols The rocks are firm and enduring against the assault of the water that devastates the ships The castle strong fortified and built high up on the rocks represents protection and the hope placed in God In the foreground bales and casks float away perhaps reminders of the transience of worldly goods circa 1650 �60 oil panel cm 31 40 05 Institution National Maritime Museum London object history credit line accession number BHC0842 http //collections rmg co uk/collections/objects/12334 html PD-old-100 Marine paintings by Jan Peeters I Paintings in the National Maritime Museum London 17th-century sailing ships in paintings Sailing ships of the Netherlands 17th-century oil on panel paintings in the United Kingdom | ||||
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