Adriaen Salm

Exhibited by Pelgrims de Bigard

Material oil and ink on panel

Dimensions 55.8 × 83.3 cm

Place of Creation Delfshaven

Status Vetted

About the Work

The presentation of this painting resonates with recent international developments.

As early as the seventeenth century, Greenland was already coveted by European powers for its natural resources — foremost among them whales.

The Dutch were particularly active in these northern waters, playing a major role in the development of whaling in Greenland.Dutch whaling reached its peak between 1680 and 1725. At the time the painting was made, most Dutch whalers were operating around the drifting ice near Greenland. Not surprisingly, artists in the Netherlands eagerly portrayed this adventurous industry during this same period. Adriaen van Salm, a master of the art of penschilderij--penwork on an oil ground--created some of the most interesting images of this dangerous line of work. This scene shows the ships De Faem, Het Bonte Kalf, De Bonte Walvis, and De Vergulde Klok.

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Provenance

Richard Green, London, 1988
Kunsthandel Rob Kattenburg, Heiloo, The Netherlands
The Weiss Gallery, London
Purchased from the above in 1995 by the present owner
Private collection, Boston

Literature

R. A. Eggink, "Walvisvaart in het hoge noorden," in Tableau, 1989, pp. 70-71, plate 12, no. 1
A. Shimtum, Glorious Past of the Netherlands and Japan, 1993, p. 41, color illus. no 27.
Jeroen Giltaij, Jan Kelch, Praise of ships and the sea – The Dutch Marine Painters of the 17th Century, exhibition catalogue, Gent,1996, p.464, fig.1.