Moluccae (Spice Islands)

William Blaeu, Amsterdam

About 1630

See More of the Collection

Three quarter length woman seen from behind, weight on right leg. Arms bent to hold drapery in front; drapery falls from the front to under buttocks. Hair in a bun.
Ludolf Backhuysen was one of the foremost painters of marine subjects in 17th c. Holland. Beautifully preserved, this painting ranks among Backhuysen's most striking paintings of the late 1670s. On the left a number of smaller vessels navigate the rough sea in a steady, strong breeze. On the right fishermen are pulling in their nets and beyond the man-'o-war Bruinvisch sails towards the coastline in the far distance. The ominous sky in the foreground with dark, billowing clouds moving in from the left clears in the distance. Using a strong side light to illuminate the ships and the water in the foreground, Backhuysen creates a dramatic composition that emphasizes the changing weather conditions.
Palamedesz was a painter. He is shown here slightly turned to the proper right with curly hair and a small moustache. He is dressed with a frilled collar and long cloak. He leans with his proper left arm onto a slab of stone. This image is from the Gillis Hendricx edition of the Iconography (Icones Principum Virorum Doctorum, Pictorum Chalcographorum Statuorum nec non Amatorum Pictoriae Artis Numero Centum), 1632-44.
A man is shown in half view in elaborate dress and a hat with a plume.