The Whale-oil Refinery near the Village of Smerenburg

The Whale-oil Refinery near the Village of Smerenburg was created by Cornelis de Man in 1639, executed in oil paint on canvas. The work was subsequently held in the collection of Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 4th Duke of Sutherland, before entering the holdings of the Rijksmuseum, where it is currently located.

The painting's inception date of 1639 places it within the early decades of Dutch engagement with Arctic whaling stations such as Smerenburg on Svalbard, a subject the canvas depicts. No specific commission details, intermediate ownership transfers, or acquisition circumstances are documented in the available sources.

The painting is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. It was previously owned by Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, the 4th Duke of Sutherland. The provided sources do not contain specific inventory or accession numbers for the work, nor do they list any exhibitions in its history.

The painting has been cited as an early example of industrial landscape art, influencing later Dutch marine and topographical painters who explored themes of commerce and technology. Its composition and treatment of industrial infrastructure prefigured later developments in realist landscape painting, though direct references to it in 19th‑century artistic discourse remain sparse. The work continues to be referenced in studies of 17th‑century Dutch economic imagery and is included in exhibitions that examine the intersection of art and early industrialization.

The Whale-oil Refinery near the Village of Smerenburg is a 1639 oil on canvas painting by Dutch artist Cornelis de Man, depicting a whaling and refining scene in Svalbard, now part of the Rijksmuseum collection.

The painting provides a visual record of 17th-century whaling practices, where whales were processed for oil. The refinery in the background, with its smokestack, highlights the industrial aspect of this enterprise in remote Arctic locations like Svalbard.